Comparing Preloaded PIT Tag Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use PIT Injectors Scott McCutcheon Ryan Richmond Heiden Bliss Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Acknowledgements Contributed data: Doug Marsh, NMFS Dave Marvin & Jennifer Neighbors, PSMFC Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH Funding agencies for tagging projects: US Army Corp of Engineers, Walla Walla District USFWS/LSRCP Douglas County PUD Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Introduction Earlier, Heiden Bliss gave you: – A description of the Pre-loaded Single Use Injector (SUI) – And, told you what led to development of SUI’s. During this presentation, I will: – Go into greater depth regarding some of my discussion points from yesterday’s presentation (related to sharp needles) – Discuss the differences between SUI’s and Multiple Use Injectors (MUI) – Present data that shows the benefit of using SUI’s – And finish up with a recommendation Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

SUI Usage in the Columbia Basin 2009 o 656,000 SUI were used equaling 30% of the total PIT tag usage Biomark’s proportion was 656,000 (100%) 2010 o 1,050,500 SUI were used equating to 43% of the total PIT tags usage Biomark’s proportion was 729,000 (69%) 2011 o 1,300,000 SUI’s are projected to be used, equating to 50% of the total PIT tag usage Biomark’s proportion will be approximately 876,000 (67%) This slide demonstrates three points: 1.In two years, there have been a large number of fish tagged with SUI’s 2.There is an ascending growing trend in SUI usage 3.These numbers illustrate Biomark’s level of experience and expertise using SUI’s 50% of the total fish tagged and released in the Columbia Basin Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Reasons for using SUI rather than MUI The focus of this presentation will be to discuss three primary reasons which were the driving force behind developing SUI’s: 1.Personnel issues 2.Cost savings 3.Better product (healthy tagged fish at the time of release) Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues 5 per6 personnel issues that make SUI usage more desirable 1.Crew Size - Rule of thumb – you need 1.2 needle loaders for each person tagging A. Biomark – Crew size with MUI = 24 (4 data collectors, 8 taggers, 1 fish handler, 10 needle loaders and 1 supervisor) – Crew size with SUI = 13 (4 data collectors, 8 taggers and 1 fish handler) – 46% reduction in crew size B.NMFS (Lower Granite) – Crew Size with MUI = 45 to 55 – Crew size with SUI = 30 – 33 to 45% reduction in crew size 2.Personnel availability in remote locations A.Stanley Idaho B.Lower Granite Dam 1.Especially evident with sub-yearling fall Chinook due to their life history and small window of opportunity. Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues (1 of 6) 1.Crew Size Rule of thumb for MUI’s – you need 1.2 needle loaders for each person tagging A. Biomark – MUI crew size = 24 (8 taggers, 10 needle loaders, 4 data collectors, 1 fish handler and 1 supervisor) – SUI crew size = 13 (8 taggers, 4 data collectors, and 1 fish handler) – 46% reduction in crew size B.NMFS (Lower Granite) – MUI crew size = 45 to 55 – SUI crew size = 30 – 33 to 45% reduction in crew size 2.Personnel availability in remote locations A.of opportunity. Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues (2 of 6) 1.Crew Size 2.Personnel availability is a problem in remote locations A.Lower Granite Dam No shows MUI crew required 55 people Sometimes only 30 would show up to work Daily travel requirements Dedicated, experienced Personnel B.Stanley Idaho “In the winter, people in Stanley either have a job, or they don’t want a job.” Lack of available local personnel Requires entire crew to be on travel status With a full MUI crew, our travel budget would be cost prohibitive A.are facing hiring quotas and or restrictions Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues (3 of 6) 1.Crew Size 2.Personnel availability in remote locations 3.Conflicting tagging schedules reduce personnel availability A.State and/or federal agencies CW-Tagging fish at the same time & location 1.Especially evident with sub-yearling fall Chinook due to their life history o Limited to tagging fish with lengths >65mm using 12.5mm PIT tags o Fish SHOULD BE PIT tagged two week prior to their departure date (pumped and transported) o That leaves us a 4 to 6 week window of opportunity when all production sub-yearling fall Chinook must be tagged (CWT and PIT tags) B.Example: Umatilla, Oregon. We were not able to find any local personnel in Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues (4 of 6) 1.Crew Size 2.Personnel availability in remote locations 3.Conflicting tagging schedules reduce personnel availability 4.Project management – A larger crew equates to: A.More HR issues B.More supervision required C.More training D.Dealing with hiring quotas and or restrictions 5.P 6.personal injury and the threat of human to human disease transmission Needle loaders get cut – a lot! Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues (5 of 6) 1.Crew 2.Personnel availability in remote locations 3.Conflicting tagging schedules reduce personnel availability 4.Project management – A larger crew equates to: 5.Personal injury with the threat of human-to-human disease transmission Needle loaders get cut – a lot! – (Fewer Band-Aids) 6.Fatigue The ergonomic design of the SUI implanter allows for long term usage without fatigue. Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Personnel Issues (6 of 6) 1.Crew 2.Personnel availability in remote locations 3.Conflicting tagging schedules reduce personnel availability 4.Project management – A larger crew equates to: 5.Personal injury with the threat of human-to-human disease transmission 6.Fatigue The ergonomic design of the SUI implanter allows for long term usage without fatigue. Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Cost Benefit of SUI (1 of 2 ) Biomark was able to reduce our budget to the COE by 7% by using SUI injectors. How? Doesn’t the needle cost more? 1.Yes. The cost per needle is Approximately $0.21 higher per use. SUI -- $0.31 vs. MUI -- $0.10 (When used correctly) Biomark used MUI needles approximately 10 NMFS used their MUI needles 3 to 5 times 1.– no hazardous waste charge Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Cost Benefit of SUI (2 of 2) Biomark was able to reduce our budget to the COE by 7% by using SUI injectors. How? Doesn’t the needle cost more? Yes. (Approximately $0.21 per fish) BUT – This is offset by the following: 1.Payroll – Biomark reduced our crew size by 46% (Reducing the crew size does not directly correlate to a payroll) 2.Per diem - fewer people on travel status 3.Travel expenses – fewer vehicles required 4.No MUI expenses Needle loading trailer rental, alcohol 5.Re-use/Recycling No hazardous waste fees Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Producing a Better Product As tagging project managers, our finished product should be: A group of healthy, tagged fish that matches the data contained in the release file. Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Producing a Better Product (1) “A healthy, live, tagged fish – at the time of release.” Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors We use two indicators to determine the immediate success of a tagging operation: 1.Fish mortality From time of tagging until release. Compared to normal mortality at the same facility. 2.Tag shedding From time of tagging until release.

Producing a Better Product (1a) Reduce Mortality Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Fish mortality What can we do to reduce tagging related mortality? a)Use only properly trained personnel. – Training personnel to use a SUI is much easier than training to use an MUI. (Ergonomics) b)Use Sharp needles – Dull needles have a high potential to injure fish. c)Use clean needles – SUI reduce the chance of horizontal (fish-to-fish) disease transmission without disinfecting needles with alcohol

Producing a Better Product (1b) Reduce Mortality Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Fish mortality What can we do to reduce tagging related mortality? a)Use only properly trained personnel. – Training personnel to use a SUI is much easier than training to use an MUI. – Improper techniques can lead to high mortality b)Use Sharp needles – Dull needles have a higher potential to injure or kill fish. c)Use clean needles – SUI reduce the chance of horizontal (fish-to-fish) disease transmission without disinfecting needles with alcohol

Producing a Better Product (1c) Reduce Mortality Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Fish mortality What can we do to reduce tagging related mortality? a)Use only properly trained personnel. – Training personnel to use a SUI is much easier than training to use an MUI. – Improper techniques can lead to high mortality b)Use Sharp needles – Dull needles have a high potential to injure fish. c)Use clean needles – SUI reduce the chance of horizontal (fish-to-fish) disease transmission without disinfecting needles with alcohol.

Producing a Better Product (2a) Tag Shedding Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Tag shedding What can we do to reduce tag shedding? a)Use well trained personnel – Improper techniques can cause high shedding rates b)Use sharp needles – Dull needles will cause larger more ragged wounds that may take longer to heal.

Producing a Better Product (2b) Tag Shedding Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Tag shedding What can we do to reduce tag shedding? a)Use well trained personnel – Improper techniques can cause high shedding rates

Producing a Better Product (2a) Reducing Tag Shedding Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Tag shedding What can we do to reduce tag shedding? a)Use well trained personnel – Improper techniques can cause high shedding rates b)Use sharp needles – Dull needles will cause larger more ragged wounds that may take longer to heal.

Tag shedding & Mortality DATA Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors The next few slides will show difference in data from fish tagged with SUI and MUI injectors: a)A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI USFWS – Hagerman Fall b)Some comparisons of multi-year data using both MUI and SUI injectors. NMFS – Lower Granite Biomark – Various hatcheries

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Two treatments – 6,600 SUI and 6,600 MUI fish (150 SUI & 150 MUI) were removed for 28 day wound observation (photographed on a weekly basis) Results No significant difference in tag shedding (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in mortality (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in length of wound (MUI slightly longer)  Significant difference in width of wound (MUI Wider)  Significant difference in ragged wounds (MUI 44%, SUI 3%) At 7 days, 18% of ragged wounds had healed compared to 44% of clean incisions..

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Two treatments – 6,600 SUI and 6,600 MUI fish 150 SUI & 150 MUI) were removed for 28 day wound observation (photographed on a weekly basis) Results No significant difference in tag shedding (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in mortality (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in length of wound (MUI slightly longer)  Significant difference in width of wound (MUI Wider)  Significant difference in ragged wounds (MUI 44%, SUI 3%) At 7 days, 18% of ragged wounds had healed compared to 44% of clean incisions. At 14 days, both clean and ragged incisions had almost completely healed.

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Two treatments – 6,600 SUI and 6,600 MUI fish 150 SUI & 150 MUI) were removed for 28 day wound observation (photographed on a weekly basis) Results No significant difference in tag shedding (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in mortality (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in length of wound (MUI slightly longer)  Significant difference in width of wound (MUI Wider)  Significant difference in ragged wounds (MUI 44%, SUI 3%) At 7 days, 18% of ragged wounds had healed compared to 44% of clean incisions. At 14 days, both clean and ragged incisions had almost completely healed.

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Two treatments – 6,600 SUI and 6,600 MUI fish 150 SUI & 150 MUI) were removed for 28 day wound observation (photographed on a weekly basis) Results No significant difference in tag shedding (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in mortality (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in length of wound (MUI slightly longer)  Significant difference in width of wound (MUI Wider)  Significant difference in ragged wounds (MUI 44%, SUI 3%) At 7 days, 18% of ragged wounds had healed compared to 44% of clean incisions. At 14 days, both clean and ragged incisions had almost completely healed.

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors Example of SUI Measurement Example of MUI Measurement

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors 1.Two treatments – 6,600 SUI and 6,600 MUI fish 150 SUI & 150 MUI) were removed for 28 day wound observation (photographed on a weekly basis) Results No significant difference in tag shedding (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in mortality (MUI slightly higher) No significant difference in length of wound (MUI slightly longer)  Significant difference in width of wound (MUI Wider)  Significant difference in ragged wounds 44% of the MUI group was considered ragged compared to 3% of the SUI group. At 7 days, 18% of ragged wounds had healed compared to 44% of clean incisions. At 14 days, both clean and ragged incisions had almost completely healed.  This is important when considering how fish are handled post tagging (Whenever possible, do not transport for two weeks.)

Tag shedding & Mortality A brief summary of study comparing SUI to MUI Nate Wiese, USFWS Hagerman NFH, Fall 2009 Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors Example of Ragged Incision 1 Day Post PIT tagging with MUI Needle Method.

Multi-year mortality and shed tag data recovered at Lower Granite dam by NMFS. Yearling hatchery Chinook were held 24 hours. (Data provided by Doug Marsh, NMFS) Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors In 2007 the MUI injector method had fewer mortalities (higher shed rate). Note that fewer fish were tagged that year. Needles were used 3 times each and the smaller crew consisted of their most experienced personnel.

Multi-year mortality and shed tag data recovered at various hatcheries by hatchery staff and NMFS truck drivers. Tagging was conducted by Biomark. Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors

Summary Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors With two years of tagging using Pre-loaded Single Use Injectors, we have observed: – Reduced mortality – Lower shed rate – Decreased cost to tag fish. From a management perspective: – We are producing a better product at a lower cost.

Recommendation Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors In 1992, the Columbia Basin banned the use of auto-taggers. I believe a similar prohibition should be considered for the excessive use of MUI’s. I recommend that researchers conducting PIT tagging should limit the use of MUI to no more than 10 fish per needle, or use SUI. How do we mandate a change? 1.Funding agencies. – Demand a standard of excellence in the material used to produce valid studies. Follow this up with the funding to support. 2.PIT tag steering committee. – Recommend that needles not be used more than 10 times each.

Recommendation Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors In 1991, the Columbia Basin banned the use of auto-taggers. I believe a similar prohibition should be considered for the excessive use of MUI’s. I recommend that researchers conducting PIT tagging should limit the use of MUI to no more than 10 fish per needle, or use SUI. How do we mandate a change? 1.Funding agencies. – Demand a standard of excellence in the material used to produce valid studies. Follow this up with the funding to support. 2.PIT tag steering committee. – Recommend that needles not be used more than 10 times each.

Recommendation Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors In 1991, the Columbia Basin banned the use of auto-taggers. I believe a similar prohibition should be considered for the excessive use of MUI’s. I recommend that researchers conducting PIT tagging should limit the use of MUI to no more than 10 fish per needle, or use SUI. How do we mandate a change? 1.Funding agencies. – Demand a standard of excellence in the material used in order to produce valid studies. Follow this up with the funding to support. 2.PIT tag steering committee. – Recommend that needles not be used more than 10 times each.

Recommendation Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors In 1991, the Columbia Basin banned the use of auto-taggers. I believe a similar prohibition should be considered for the excessive use of MUI’s. I recommend that researchers conducting PIT tagging should limit the use of MUI to no more than 10 fish per needle, or use SUI. How do we mandate a change? 1.Funding agencies. – Demand a standard of excellence in the material used to produce valid studies. Follow this up with the funding to support. 2.PIT tag steering committee. – Recommend that needles not be used more than 10 times each.

Questions Comparing Preloaded Single Use Injectors to Multiple Use Injectors Contact: Scott McCutcheon, Ryan Richmond, or Heiden Bliss At: Biomark, Inc. 703 S. Americana Blvd. Suite 150 Boise Idaho (208)