Research protocols for the Xayaburi Dam PIT tag retention experiments

PIT tagging is tolerated by many fish species worldwide and has already been demonstrated to work for two tropical Mekong species (Grieve et al. 2018a; Grieve et al. 2018b). It is intended to use PIT tagging to assess the passage effectiveness of the new Xayaburi fish pass facility on the Mekong River. However, there are over 200 migratory species at the Xayaburi site, and at least 26 of these species are considered to be of key importance. To gain assurance that PIT tags can generate useful data on the passage effectiveness of the Xayaburi fish pass facility, the tagging technique needs to be tested and refined for these Mekong fish species.
This report describes the research protocols for undertaking PIT tag retention experiments in tropical species from the Mekong Basin, to determine the suitability of using PIT tags on these species.
The protocols can be broken down into the following steps:
1. Collect the fish from the Mekong River
2. Transport the fish to the experimental facility
3. Randomly allocate the fish to treatment and control groups within the experimental tanks
4. Apply the handling procedures to the treatment and control groups
5. Start the PIT tag retention experiment(s) and assess the fish regularly
6. Conclude the experiment(s) and undertake final assessments
7. Release the fish.
This report also outlines the basic fish husbandry requirements for conducting PIT tag retention experiments and some options for analysing the results from such experiments.