LifeWatch Data Storage Tag workshop: how to study fish movements?
During the two-day workshop in Ostend, the covered topics included different technologies, analytical approaches and future opportunities.
From 3 to 4 October 2018, 21 people attended the Data Storage Tag (DST) workshop, from 12 different institutes and companies of 7 nationalities! Together, these advanced, fresh and future users of DST explored the numerous possibilities of this particular electronic tagging technology! The basic principle is the attachment (internally or externally) of such a tag to a fish, in order to observe its movement behaviour. To access the data, this tag needs to be recovered.
Three keynote speakers addressed different aspects of movement science with these tags. Dr. Hélène de Pontual (Ifremer) demonstrated the results of impressive tagging studies on European seabass and bluefin tuna, after which Dr. Christian Tudorache (ULeiden) explained how these tags can be used to study physiology. Dr. David Righton discussed the analysis possibilities and pitfalls. On the other hand, developers of DST exhibited their products and explained their vision on the future of this technology. The participants also got their hands dirty in a practical session to test and apply different attachment methods of different tag types.
Discussion and collaboration were essential to the workshop. Different DST projects for the near future were elaborated, followed by extensive conversations on the possible pitfalls and cooperation potential. The know-how and collaborations resulting from this workshop will be highly useful for the Belgian LifeWatch fish acoustic tracking network! As of 2018, this component of the LifeWatch observatory also traces the movements of Atlantic cod, European seabass and Starry smooth-hound with Acoustic Data Storage Tags!
Three keynote speakers addressed different aspects of movement science with these tags. Dr. Hélène de Pontual (Ifremer) demonstrated the results of impressive tagging studies on European seabass and bluefin tuna, after which Dr. Christian Tudorache (ULeiden) explained how these tags can be used to study physiology. Dr. David Righton discussed the analysis possibilities and pitfalls. On the other hand, developers of DST exhibited their products and explained their vision on the future of this technology. The participants also got their hands dirty in a practical session to test and apply different attachment methods of different tag types.
Discussion and collaboration were essential to the workshop. Different DST projects for the near future were elaborated, followed by extensive conversations on the possible pitfalls and cooperation potential. The know-how and collaborations resulting from this workshop will be highly useful for the Belgian LifeWatch fish acoustic tracking network! As of 2018, this component of the LifeWatch observatory also traces the movements of Atlantic cod, European seabass and Starry smooth-hound with Acoustic Data Storage Tags!
