The focus of this project is on integrating finished products, not on developing new ones.  Project 200100300 was started in 2001 to fund the installation and evaluation of orifice-based PIT-tag systems for adult salmonids.  As PIT tag technologies advanced, larger antennas and novel antenna designs were developed, and we recognized the need to determine whether these new antennas could significantly impact (positive or negative) the ability of existing PIT-tag systems to detect adult and juvenile salmonids.  In 2006, we changed the title of the project to “Installation and Evaluation of Established PIT-tag Technologies." to better reflect the actual work of integrating and evaluating new technologies before and after they are adopted or installed.  

Within this project, PSMFC is responsible for installing the systems, and NMFS is responsible for evaluating the installed systems.  Because the agencies have different responsibilities, they work together to evaluate the potential impact of adopting alternative technologies to the already established monitoring system that the entire fisheries community relies on for collecting data on salmonids.  PSMFC's responsibility is related to operations and maintenance, and NOAA's responsibility is to ensure that a technology is appropriate for fisheries applications and that the new technologies perform as advertised.  By working together, we ensure that a technology is ready for operations when it is adopted or installed.

During the performance period (12/1/2013-11/30/2014), this project will provide funds to NMFS for its

1)    Administrative tasks associated with this project
2)    Annual evaluation of interrogation systems for adult salmonids using in-river fish
3)    Evaluation of a new PIT-tag technologies (tags and transceiver)
4)    Fish test at Bonneville Dam to evaluate transceiver and tags
5)    PIT-tag systems for adult salmonids at Little Goose Dam
6)    Annual reports for previous years



Since all of the projects in the mainstem research/monitoring group rely to a large extent, or almost exclusively, on information gathered from PIT-tagged fish, their success are dependent on the successful implementation of this project and two other projects (199008000, 198331900) that provide the fundamental structure for the network of PIT-tag systems. The evaluations of the technologies provided by this project are critical because they determine the accuracy of the data that will be collected by future users of these technologies.