Newswise — A Norwegian-led international research team in collaboration with the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), headquartered at Dalhousie University, in Canada, is launching a 1.1 million Norwegian kroner (C$190,626) study that will place acoustic tags on Norwegian sea trout (Salmo trutta). Acoustic telemetry technology will provide the most extensive data to date on fish movement and ocean conditions to answer the question of declining sea trout populations.
A second interest is the diet of the trout. A technique called stable isotope analysis can detect whether an animal is feeding at lower or upper levels of the food chain. Trophically-transmitted marine parasites will be examined to see if the team can determine what the fish ate based on whether or not parasites specific to particular host species are found. The study will also investigate the responses of the tagged sea trout to the presence of salmon farms in the marine environment.
“Data from this investigation will provide the most detailed picture ever obtained on how these fish are interacting with their marine environment,” says Dr. Jan Davidsen, researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Davidsen heads the project that will determine whether migration and feeding patterns for the species are changing and if the changes are affecting fish survival. The study will be conducted in the Hemnefjorden in the Sør-Trøndelag region of Norway starting in late April 2012 until at least 2014.
“We are delighted to be collaborating with such a top-flight team of international researchers on such an important project. We hope that our participation will help stimulate the development of telemetry networks linking Norway and the rest of Europe,” says OTN Executive Director Dr. Frederick Whoriskey.
OTN, headquartered at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, will partner in this project through a loan of acoustic receivers manufactured by the Canadian firm Amirix/VEMCO. Canada is a world leader in the engineering, manufacturing and use of sonic telemetry equipment. This project also provides an opportunity to experiment with placing mobile receivers on an autonomous underwater vehicle to develop new abilities to track the movements of tagged animals in the oceans.
Collaborators will include scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, the University of Tromsø, and the Technical University of Denmark, plus local and regional governments, volunteers from fishing organizations, local fish farms, and industry.
Background information on OTNThe Ocean Tracking Network is a global research and technology development project headquartered at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Starting in 2008, OTN began deploying Canadian state of the art acoustic receivers and oceanographic monitoring equipment in key ocean locations. These are being used to document the movements and survival of marine animals carrying acoustic tags and to document how both are influenced by oceanographic conditions.
OTN deployments will occur in all of the world’s five oceans, and span seven continents. The species tracked include marine mammals, sea turtles, squid, and fishes including sharks, sturgeon, eels, tuna, salmon, and cod. Over 200 international researchers from 15 countries are currently participating in the global network.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada supports OTN-Canada, a national network of researchers that works with the OTN infrastructure. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funds the participation of social scientists in OTN work.
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