The Effect of Tagging on the Swimming Performance of Rainbow Trout as a Surrogate for Kahawai Arripis trutta

Abstract

Previous studies indicated that dart tags affect the migration pattern of kahawai (Australian salmon). Because kahawai cannot be held in experimental swim tunnels, we used rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss as a surrogate species of similar physiology to test the effects of visible implant tags and dart tags on swimming performance. The critical swimming velocity (U _crit) of untagged rainbow trout, 2.93 ± 0.12 (SE) body length/s, was unaffected by either tag type. Our findings suggest that altered migration of dart-tagged kahawai is not due to an acute tag-induced reduction in swimming performance.