Sutureless Implantation of Acoustic Transmitters in Rainbow Trout Exceeding 2% Tag-to-Body Ratio

A novel sutureless surgical technique has been successfully used to implant acoustic transmitters in relatively large rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss with a tag-to-body-ratio of 0.88%. This study examined the same technique in smaller rainbow trout in two, 12-week trials comparing both sutured and sutureless surgical techniques. In the first trial using a tag-to-body-ratio of 1.9% ± 0.04%, tag retention was only 16.6% in fish without sutures, which was significantly lower than the 83.3% retention with sutured incisions. Similarly, in the second trial with a tag-to-body-ratio of 3.2% ± 0.03%, tag retention was 55.5% without sutures, which was significantly lower than the 90.0% retention using sutures. Mortality was not significantly different between treatments in either trial. The results of this study indicate that sutures must be used during surgeries to implant acoustic transmitters in relatively smaller fish with tag-to-body-ratios at or above 1.9%.