Satellite Tagging - Lets do this!

[Mike]

Sattelite Tagging

Ok. How many of you guys would be interested in buying a one satellite tag and sticking a descent size fish (not sure if size matters here). We would be able to track the results here online and see where she is daily, how deep, temperature, moon phases, etc. I'm not sure of the exact statistics and price yet, but I want to get moving on this very soon since the fish are obviously here!

Once I get the price, I will let you guys know. Maybe professor o can help with some information?

This is a non-profit project so, we would need contributions to cover the cost. If you are interested let me know.

Mike

[Mike]

The Pop-up Archival Transmitting (PAT) Tag
New Features Supported by PAT Version 4

Our Popup Archival Transmitting (PAT) tag is designed to track the large-scale movements and behavior of pelagic fish and other animals which do not spend enough time at the surface to allow the use of real-time satellite tags. It is by far our most intelligent and complex tag, a marriage of our archival and satellite tag expertise.

Fisheries-independent tracking, archival data. Because the PAT can yield data without the animal being recaptured, it offers a fisheries-independent means of tracking a target species. In addition, a full archival record is maintained in non-volatile memory. Thus, should the PAT be recovered, you have the same detailed data that are collected by a conventional archival tag. A surprising number of PATs have been recovered by beachcombers and fisheries, giving the researcher a complete record of the animal’s behavior.


How the PAT works. PATs are best-suited for large pelagic animals. PATs have been deployed on a variety of species, including large tuna, marlin, and sharks, as well as swordfish and sea turtles. The PAT tag is attached to the animal via a tether . Generally, the researcher determines the best tether design and attachment method.

The PAT archives depth, temperature, and light-level data while being towed by the animal. At a user-specified date and time, the PAT actively corrodes the pin to which the tether is attached, thus releasing the PAT from the animal. The PAT then floats to the surface and transmits summarized information via the Argos system. Argos also uses the transmitted messages to provide the position of the tag at the time of release. The transmitted data are sent to the researcher by Service Argos. The data can be analyzed further by the researcher using Wildlife Computers PC-based software. The results provide the migration path taken by the study animal, depth and temperature preferences of the study animal, as well as oceanographic data in the form of depth-temperature profiles. Data from deployed PATs have revealed interesting and often unanticipated information on the depth and temperature preferences of these animals.

All aspects of the PAT’s data collection and transmission are user-programmable. This simplifies the logistics of your experiment design; you do not need to pre-specify these parameters before ordering the tag.

PAT recognizes attachment failures and animal mortality. Data from the PAT also offer insights into attachment failure and animal mortality. The PAT’s on-board software includes a “Premature Release” feature. This feature monitors how long the PAT remains at a “constant depth.” Constant depth readings imply the PAT is floating at the surface or sitting on the sea floor. Among the parameters set by the user are a threshold duration (24-192 hours) and depth variance (in meters). The threshold duration is the longest time a healthy animal should remain at a constant depth, and the depth variance is the number of meters the depth may vary but still be considered “constant” (necessary to account for tidal effects). The PAT recognizes a “premature release” event when it has been at a “constant” depth for longer than the threshold duration.

When the PAT recognizes a premature release, it initiates its release process and begins transmitting, rather than waiting for its release date. This gives you immediate notification that something has gone wrong, the location of the event (via the Argos location of the pop-up site), and minimizes the chances that something will damage the tag between the premature release event and the programmed release date.

Insurance against being crushed at depth. Wildlife Computers has developed a mechanical guillotine, called the RD1800, that prevents the PAT from being dragged to depths that would crush it. The RD1800 instantly severs the tether when the depth exceeds 1800m. This releases the PAT so that it floats to the surface. The Premature Release feature eventually recognizes a “constant depth” situation and initiates transmission. Thus the PAT will transmit even in the event of attachment failures, animal mortality or unexpected animal behavior.


Size, weight and pressure resistance. Electronic components are fully cast in a tube measuring 21mm in diameter. The added float measures approximately 40mm in diameter at its widest point. Overall length of the tag, not including the antenna, is 175mm. Total weight is 75g in air. The cast tube and float are tested and confirmed to withstand 2000m of pressure.

Transmitter. The PAT incorporates a custom transmitter developed with Seimac Limited as our RF consultant. It generates 0.5W of radiated power output, operating at a high efficiency to allow the maximum number of transmissions from the battery. The high-power, high-efficiency characteristics of this transmitter maximize both the quantity and quality of received messages.

Battery and deployment length. A lithium battery supplies enough power for the PAT to sample data for at least one year and make 10,000 32-byte transmissions over the course of about 7 days. The researcher can tailor the scale of the transmitted data so that it is appropriate for the deployment length (e.g., fine-scale for short-term deployments). The deployment length currently is limited by the challenge of keeping a tag on the study animal.

Controller features. The operating code of the PAT can be upgraded. This means you can always have the most up-to-date version of onboard software, regardless of when the tag was purchased. The onboard clock is temperature-compensated to accurately time data readings and the release date.

Memory. The PAT has 2 MBytes (2 million bytes) of nonvolatile flash memory to store archival and summarized data. This is enough memory to store all summarized and sampled data for most deployments. These data are retained even if the battery is exhausted. This means your archival data can be recovered if your PAT is found after it pops off.

Sensors. 12-bit analog-to-digital converters provide high-accuracy depth and temperature readings. An
8-bit analog-to-digital converter is used for light-level and battery voltage readings, as well as other housekeeping chores. Depth and temperature sensors are calibrated to provide an accuracy of 1% of the measurement. Depth and light level are temperature-compensated to provide consistent readings through temperature variations.

Depth is measured from 0 to 1000m with a resolution of 0.5m.
Temperature is measured from -40°C to +60°C with a resolution of 0.05°C.
Light level is measured as irradiance at a wavelength of 550nm. The sensor measures from 5 x 10-12 W.cm-2 to 5 x 10-2 W.cm-2 in logarithmic units. Dawn and dusk events can be discriminated at depths up to 300m in clear water conditions.
User-defined parameters. All parameters are user-programmable using a PC. You are able to set the release date, data collection, and all other parameters that control how and when the PAT stores and transmits its data.

Transmitted data. You can program the PAT to selectively transmit time-at-depth and time-at-temperature histograms, depth-temperature profiles, and/or light-level curves. You also set the histogram duration (1 to 24 hours) and bin ranges. This provides the flexibility to customize data collection to best achieve different experimental objectives.

Location accuracy. Service Argos provides the pop-off location with an accuracy as good as ±350m. Daily longitude and latitude can be calculated from transmitted light level curves by the researcher using WC-GPE, a PC-based software developed by Wildlife Computers. Longitude accuracy is approximately±1 degree. Latitude accuracy depends upon both the latitude and time of the year. Best accuracies (±1 degree) are achieved at high latitudes near the solstices, and worst occur near the equator near the equinoxes (±10 degrees, where and when latitude can be calculated).

[Mike]

New Features Supported by PAT Version 4

The PAT Tagware (on-board software) Version 4 represents significant changes to the way the PAT is set up, deployed, and transmits data. New features have been added, others removed with the goal to simplify the use of the PAT while improving its flexibility and performance.

This note describes the changes.

Configuration Changes (changes to the way you set up the PAT)


4.0 can be configured to pop off “N days after deployment.”
‘N’ starts counting when the instrument first sees a depth reading of >= 10 meters (see Deploy Command below).
The PAT continues to support a specific popoff date as well as premature release configuration and detection
4.0 does not allow you to choose the amount of memory for histograms, profiles, curves, or archive data.
4.0 automatically calculates the necessary amount of space given the configured popoff date or deployment interval
You do not need to “Re-allocate memory” with 4.0
4.0 automatically re-allocates memory at the start of the deployment see Deploy Command below)
You can not set the Argos message “Repetition Rate”
4.0 automatically randomizes the transmissions
4.0 does not support “Start with 3 days of only transmitting location data (Loc-3day)”
4.0 has an improved method of ensuring a good light level curve for calibration is received.
4.0 does not support “Delayed Deploy”
All deployments are essentially “delayed deployments.” Data are not collected until a depth reading of >=10m is encountered.
You cannot configure the number of outliers for premature release
4.0 automatically picks a reasonable value based on the amount of time involved in premature release detection
When 4.0 Receives a Deploy Command, it:

Blinks “ZZZ” in Morse Code on the LED to indicate it is sleeping and awaiting a deep reading
Blinks the LED on dim and looks for a depth reading of >= 10 meters. It repeats this every 11 seconds until such a depth reading is observed
Blinks “OK” in Morse Code on the LED when a depth reading of >= 10 meters has been observed
Erases Flash, blinking the LED every other second
This takes several seconds, and allows another confirmation that the PAT recognized it should start collecting data.
Allocates Flash memory, based on current date and projected deployment termination
Starts collecting data and immediately begins premature release detection (if configured)
During Deployment:
4.0 generally operates in the same manner as the current PAT
4.0 blinks the LED at each wakeup until it has awakened 256 times, thereafter it stops blinking
Although 4.0 collects depth readings once per minute for premature release detection purposes, it only analyzes this data every 16 minutes (to preserve battery)
If 4.0 finds erroneous external thermistor readings 5 or more times during deployment, it switches over to using the internal thermistor for the rest of this deployment. PDT and Hist records generated after the switch to the backup thermistor have a bit set indicating the switch.
When the Popoff Date is Reached, or Premature Release Is Initiated:
4.0 continues to collect and process data.
This means new LOC messages are generated and will be transmitted when their time comes. This allows for better calibration for geolocation.
Data are archived at one-minute intervals, regardless of the interval set during deployment.
The current state of the corrosion pin (broken or intact) is remembered, and the corrosion pin is turned on for 9 hours
Data transmission begins after the pin has corroded for 9 hours
LOC, Hist, and PDT messages are sent with their respective priorities
4.0 begins transmitting the most recently collected data and moves backwards through the recorded data
Priority is given to recent Hist and PDT messages for a premature release
Hist and PDT messages recorded ‘PRTransmitDays’(a user-defined parameter) prior to the start of the premature release detection interval are transmitted for the first four days.
They have the same priority as normal Hist and PDT messages
A status message is sent every 20 messages. Contains both “before corrosion” state of the pin, and the current state of corrosion pin (broken or intact)
The most recently recorded LOC data is sent every 3 status messages
These will be the light level curves collected after popoff. Since the PAT is at the surface and Argos locations should be received, these messages will be very useful for the calibration of the light-level curves for geolocation
Messages are randomly spaced between 54 and 66 seconds apart. The interval is recalculated after each transmission
If we switched over to the internal thermistor, the most significant bit of the message type field for PDT and Hist messages is set. PDT and Hist records stored before 4.0 switched over to the backup thermistor do not have the bit set. This tells us which PDTs and Histograms were recorded with the external vs. internal thermistors.

[Captain Joe McGivern]

ill do it mike

[kai akua]

i had the chance a few years ago to help with the PSAT program for marlins in the atlantic. Dr. Eric Prince and staff came down a few times and meet the boat in the isalnds, we where working out of crooked island and san salvador. long story we short we deployed about 6. it was very rewarding work. the tags are about $4,500 at the time, i have heard about 33% where recovered. teh data will be released shortly. keep in mind we did this 2yrs ago, and we can view any HARD data, becuse it belongs to teh goverment at this time. i have no idea that if you buy them that you will be able to see the data, does it become govermental data?

those tags are huge, so beware.

also you can select how many days for the dag to be deployed, cool stuff.

i would donate cash, but i dont have any. so i will donate webwork (i am a part time webmaster) time if that is possiable. it would be nice to se SFC rasie some money for some tags.

cool topic mike! i would like to see it pursued further.

Robbie

[Intensity]

There has been quite a bit of research over the past 8 years or so utilizing pop up tags on Giant bluefin tuna here in the Northeast and in North Carolina. You may want to contact Dr. Molly Lutcavage or Barbra Block. They have done extensive work and may be able to help out. Greg Skomal from NMFS would be another great contact. If you do an internet search on these folks, you can look at some of their experiences. Sounds like a great project.......good luck!!........Frank

[SM]

Just a couple points Mike:

1) Your first post implies that you'd be able to track daily movements of the fish on a website. While the PATs described capture/track large scale movements daily, they are not being uploaded daily to a satellite. The cumulative information is uploaded to a satellite once the PAT separates or pops up at the designated time.

2) The Pfleger Institute out here on the West Coast has already been installing PATs on swordfish. You might want to check with them. If need be, I can get you the name of the biologist doing the work at Pfleger.

3) BlueWater Magazine (Australia) published a short article on the data recovered from an swordfish fitted with an archival tag. This was not a PAT, but a surgically inserted archival tag with a stalk hanging from it. The daily diurnal (up and down) movements of the fish were highly predictable with the chart looking like squared saw tooths. Most of the time at night was spent in the top 15 meters. During the day it spent most of the time below the tags measuring range. Interestingly, when the fish entered temperate waters, it would spend brief periods of time at the surface much as what we see off SoCal, but the diurnal movements were still basically the same.

4) Finally, these tags are meant to be tools for scientific study. Merely buying one for installation without the intention of testing a hypothesis is not in line with scientific method. I'd much rather see funds donated for specific scientific research using these devices, as you'd realize much more valuable results. Otherwise, it's the old adage: garbage in, garbage out.

[Mike]

Good Points SM.

For this test I am intersted in where the fish are on a particular moon phase.

On the full moon are they 1000 feet deep or 100ft deep for the marjority of the night? Those are the kind of things I am interested in finding out.

This would just be your friendly neighborhood experiment, nothing to fancy...

Mike

[TRK3]

Mike,

I know i read an article about tagging that only read the location and depth of fish several dozen times a day then the tag released after a time (i think 30 days or so). But the most important thing was that the tags were cheap because they used old tech. and didnt monitor many other things. I forget where i read the piece but may have been online.


Tom

[SM]

Mike,

Somewhere in the 40' Storage trailer on my property (home remodel, ask Robby) I have a scientific report on swordfish tagged with acoustical tags off SoCal, Cabo and the North Carolina Coast. Again, fairly predictable diurnal patterns. During the the full moon phase the fish were indeed deeper, but not the wide difference you're thinking. If I recall correctly, with the exception of the full moon phase, the fish were in the top 100'. During the full moon phase, the fish were in the top 150'. You must also consider the local thermoclines, which are undoubtedly different for the the areas studied.

In our SoCal fishery, I'm even considering the behavior patterns of the makos. My friend has done a study on makos were they fed them archival/acoustical tags and followed them. I gave Robby my copy of the report. In summary, at night the makos spent 85% of their time in the top 15 meters (47'?) of the water column. Our thermocline off SoCal is typically at 60' to 90'. If the swords are in the top 100' most of the night, there should be a corridor between the domain of the makos and the swords where I can present a trolled offering. That has been my focus when I've trolled swords at night. So far, I'm still getting sharked, but not an awful lot.

Steve

Steve

[ReelIntubaiter]

Hi Mike, I would be happy to participate. Check out this PDF file with some results from PSAT deployed in the pacific. It shows the diurnal habits of swordfish very clearly. It compares depth during night and day. I think many of you would find this file of interest.
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PFRP/dec..._swordfish.pdf[/url]

[ProfessorO]

I think that the cost is around $4,000 now. The information is not
real time but after the fact.
As Steve stated, the results from S Cal can not be directly
applicable here, the depth numbers will certaintly be different,
though, some patterns are probably the same-fish deeper during
the bright nights.
It would be interesting just to do to find out where are the
swords during the day, do they migrate in during the night,
when do they come up to feed and go down in the morning?
Talk to Skip and Bobby at the SE Sword Club, they were
interested; KC at the SAIL club, Chuck and John at the Cuda
Club, LHP ??? cheers, arthur

[SM]

ProfessorO,

That study article in my storage trailer did include fish tagged off Cabo. They noted that the fish were deep on banks or shelves during the day, even stationary on the bottom presumably using their pecs and tail as a tripod. At night, they moved offshore following canyon walls moving to open. We are talking about just a couple fish tagged with acoutistal telemetry tags, but definitely interesting stuff. The diurnal patterns were the same.

Steve

P.S. I get my articles from a buddy who's a biologist with the IATTC down at Scripps. He actually does all the downloads on recovered tags for Barbara Block's Atlantic bluefin studies, as well as doing the downloads from their recovered tags on Pacific Bigeye. You'd be surprised at the tag recovery rate on surgically implanted archival tags. It's easily 1/3. Very interesting stuff. Right now he's back to doing otoliths from bigeye recovered with tags in them.

[kai akua]

i read Sm's Mako study, cool stuff. i have a bunch of links to other sword PSAT data, maybe i can dig them up from my computer. (Hey SM do you want that Study back? if so let me go make a copy and i will mail back the original, zap me your address via email)

here is a coll link, no PSAT data though, but cool effects of diffrent bait used

http://www.mslabs.noaa.gov/mslabs/docs/watson2.pdf

some PSAT data from hawaii on swords on others

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PFRP/dec01mtg/musyl01.pdf

R

[SM]

Robby, I don't need the mako study back. I can just call the author on his cell phone and he'll send me a PDF file of the article. I gave it to you looking for corroboration from a very experienced angler such as yourself as to my thoughts on lure/rigged bait placement for night trolling swords off SoCal. The night trolling off SoCal is pioneering effort and we need all the help we can get to maximize the odds of presenting our offerings to swords while minimize our interfacing with makos. The results of that mako study superimposed over results from sword tagging studies would seem to indicate that there is a band of water at 60' to 90' where the swords are at night off SoCal, but where the numerous small makos are not. Then superimpose the presumption that swords hunt for prey at or above them as opposed to looking down for prey. I'd conclude that one should place the baits/lures in the upper portion of that band, pray and try to stay awake all night as opposed to driving around with one's face on the wheel ! In my view, it's all about placement to maximize the odds of swords and minimize the mako interference. Put the right offering in front of a hungry sword and they will feed. That's what long liners count on.

[Mike]

SM, can you get permission for me to publish the pdf reports here on the website? Thats some good stuff.

let me know

thanks,
Mike

[SM]

I think I can get permission and links. They are published scientific papers. I just need to remember during the day. This time of year is hectic.