Ss. Montgomery et Pa. Brett, TAGGING EASTERN ROCK LOBSTERS JASUS-VERREAUXI - EFFECTIVENESS OF SEVERAL TYPES OF TAG, Fisheries research, 27(4), 1996, pp. 141-152
An experiment was done in the laboratory over 147 weeks to assess tag
loss (tag-induced mortality plus tag shedding) in tagged or marked eas
tern rock lobsters, Jasus verreauxi, The incidence of tag-induced mort
ality, tag shedding or tag loss did not generally differ among tag typ
es (toggle, T-anchor, dart tags), mark, or untagged lobsters, The exce
ptions were that more untagged lobsters died between weeks 86 and 147
than lobsters tagged with T-anchor or dart tags, The percentages of lo
bsters that died were 51, 45, 43, 47, and 62 for toggle, T-anchor, dar
t, marked, and untagged treatments, respectively. An additional 18%, 2
2% and 23% of lobsters tagged with either toggle, T-anchor or dart tag
s, respectively, shed their tag. None of the marked lobsters lost thei
r marks. We conclude that no one type of tag used in the experiment wa
s more suited to tagging J. verreauxi than another. Marking was discou
nted as a technique to use in long-term experiments because, although
the mark was still evident after 147 weeks, only trained observers cou
ld recognise it, making the technique inappropriate for the general pu
blic.