Tags and tracking
Cefas has been in the vanguard of developing sophisticated
electronic data storage tags (DSTs) that have led to a quantum leap
in the study of animal migrations and behaviour.
Integrated circuitry has led to the development of ever-smaller
archival tags that measure a range of parameters. Our
researchers can now track species' movements while at liberty for
up to two years, and relate complex behavioural patterns to local
environments.
Tagging devices provide valuable data, and the results are used
to establish:
- the behaviour of tagged individuals, through physical and
physiological data
- stock migration patterns
- the effects of human activities and obstructions on
migrations
- the effect of fish behaviour on the efficiency of sampling
methods (trawling and acoustic survey)
- the impact of specific patterns of behaviour on stock
size.
Evidence gleaned from tags and tracking devices underpins the
assumptions used in fisheries and other species models. It also
helps our scientists to formulate informed advice on marine
and fisheries subjects for bodies such as the International
Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Defra and the European
Union (EU).
Cefas has vast expertise in the design and development of
miniature electronic tags and high-resolution tracking systems for
monitoring fish, birds and animals. Our Electronics Design team
provides world-renowned expertise, designing devices with an
integrated range of sensors and transmitters that are sealed in
packages capable of withstanding hostile environments.
Development projects are conducted in multi-disciplinary teams
involving biologists, electronic engineers, software developers and
commercial manufacturers. This ensures that systems fully meet
research needs and can subsequently be reliably manufactured in
large quantities.
We have specialised skills in
- sophisticated high-resolution tracking systems for juvenile and
adult fish and shellfish in marine and freshwater environments
- miniature devices suitable for tracking and monitoring the
behaviour of animals in extreme and demanding environments
- an innovative range of radio, acoustic and archival tags
- technological expertise in the development of data storage tags
and telemetry for free-swimming fish
- pioneering tag-attachment techniques
- active sonar and acoustic buoy-tracking equipment
- novel physical, physiological and biological sensors
- satellite communications facilities
- data-analysis systems.
For more about our capabilities in this area, please contact us.