Electronic Tagging and Tracking in Marine Fisheries

Abstract

Sea water is nearly opaque to electromagnetic radiation. It is, therefore, difficult to track marine animals visually over significant distances, and radio tracking is rendered impractical by antennae and power requirements. Marine biologists have been laboring for over 40 years to develop alternative electronic systems to understand the behavior and physiology of marine animals in their natural environment. The pace of development accelerated in the 1990s motivated by new fishery management imperatives and propelled by rapid advances in electronics. By the late 1990s, a wide variety of electronic tagging and tracking devices were being applied in every ocean, in all marine habitats, and to an astonishing array of animals. Behaviorists, physiologists, engineers, modelers, fishery managers, and equipment manufacturers converged in Honolulu in February 2000 to participate in the Symposium on Tagging and Tracking Marine Fish with Electronic Devices. This volume reviews the history and presents the state-of-the-art of electronic tags used in the marine environment, as described in presentations at the symposium.