Laboratory and Field Tests of Modified Sphyrion Tags on Lobsters (Homarus americanus)

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Abstract
Mortalities of lobsters held in the laboratory and tagged with sphyrion tags inserted dorsally between the carapace and abdomen (subcarapace tag) and between the second and third abdominal segments (abdomen tag) did not differ significantly. Premoult tag loss was negligible. The subcarapace tag was retained significantly better through moulting.Returns of subcarapace-tagged and abdomen-tagged lobsters released on the fishing grounds in June, 11 weeks before the August 10 opening of the fishing season, were lower than returns of carapace-tagged lobsters released in early August. More subcarapace-tagged than abdomen-tagged lobsters were returned, and a higher proportion had moulted. Growth was comparable to that reported in the literature. Few lobsters were recaptured during the following fishing season, 14–16 months after liberation, and none subsequently. Returns from lobsters less than 63.5 mm carapace length (sublegal) when tagged were extremely low. Poor survival may be related in part to time of release. Some injury to internal organs may occur with both tags. The subcarapace tag is clearly superior but may be of limited value in the field for lobsters below 63.5 mm carapace length.

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