PIT tag

From PTAGISWiki

This page provides a summary of the types of PIT tags used for fisheries research and monitoring in the Columbia Basin, an abbreviated list of PIT tag manufacturers, and a summary of the models of PIT tags used in the Basin.

Tag Types

The successful exchange of data through the Columbia Basin PIT Tag Information System (PTAGIS) is predicated on the standardized use of a single PIT tag technology. Between 1986 and 1999, essentially all PIT tag research and monitoring projects in the CRB marked salmon and steelhead using 400 kHz full duplex (FDX) tags manufactured by Destron Fearing Corp. These tags were approximately 11.5 mm long and 2.1 mm in diameter. Additionally, some 125 kHz FDX tags of approximately the same size were also used to mark various fish species, including sturgeon and other resident fish and both anadromous and adfluvial salmonids.

Between 1997 and 1999, Chelan County PUD marked fish with 134.2 kHz FDX PIT tags (Annex A), as part of an evaluation of a surface collector and juvenile fish bypass at Rocky Reach Dam. Detectors capable of decoding these 134.2 kHz FDX-A tags were installed in combination with 400 kHz FDX detectors at Rocky Reach Dam (1997 - 2002) and at McNary Dam (1998 - 1999).

In the late summer and fall of 2000, researchers in the CRB switched from the use of 400 kHz PIT tags and detection equipment to equipment compatible with 134.2 kHz FDX-B tags conforming to the International Standards Organization standards ISO 11784 and 11785. Again, Destron Fearing has been the primary manufacturer of the 134.2 kHz ISO FDX-B tags used in the CRB. Almost all of these tags are 12.5 mm long and 2.1 mm in diameter.

More recently, researchers investigating the life histories of resident or adfluvial species such as bull trout have used larger (23  mm) 134.2 kHz ISO FDX-B tags.

At Bonneville Dam, researchers are inserting 134.2 kHz half duplex (HDX) PIT tags into the body cavity of Pacific lamprey. These tags, manufactured by Texas Instruments, are approximately 23 mm long and 4 mm in diameter.

The Columbia Basin PIT Tag Steering Committee (PTSC) is responsible for qualifying tags for use within the Basin. The procedure is defined in this document: PTAGIS Tag Qualification Process.pdf.

Tag Providers

The vast majority of the tags used in the CRB since 1986 have been provided by a single vendor. Initially, the vendor was Identification Devices Inc., who then became Destron Fearing, then Digital Angel Corporation, and is currently again providing services to fisheries researchers as Destron Fearing.

The following list provides the hexadecimal and decimal prefixes for various manufacturers' RFID devices.

Manufacturer	Hex Prefix	Decimal Prefix
Destron Fearing	3D9	985
Nedap	3D8	984
Texas Instruments	3D7	983
Allflex	3D6	982
Datamars	3D5	981
Diehl Ident	3D4	980
Earlsmere ID	3D3	979
Ordicam/IER SA	3D2	978
Avid	3D1	977
Trovan/EID	3BC	956
Shared Code (several manufacturers)	384	900

A more comprehensive list of vendors and products can be viewed at http://www.service-icar.com/manufacturer_codes/Manufacturers_DB/manufacturer_codes_main.asp.

Destron Fearing Tag Attributes

Model	Length (mm)	Diameter (mm)	Dry Weight (g)	Manufacturing Dates		Tag Code Range
				First	Last	First	Last
TX1400BE	11.78	1.97	0.0843	N/A	N/A	3D9.1748C33340	3D9.17490F7E80
TX1400ST	12.45	2.01	0.1067	N/A	N/A	3D9.1BF188E9E8	3D9.1BF27B5192
TX1400SGL	12.70	2.22	0.1254	N/A	N/A	3D9.257C590A00	N/A
TX1400SST	12.48	2.07	0.1020	N/A	N/A	N/A1	3D9.257C6B59801
				N/A	N/A	3D9.1C2C297A002	3D9.1C2C6683002
TX1410B	18.00	3.00	0.35	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TX1415BE	23.75	3.86	0.57	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TX1420SST	20.0 ±1.0	3.05 ±0.04	0.370	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TXP1485B	8.5 ±0.7	2.12 ±0.03	0.067	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

¹The TX1400SST tags initially employed the same Melexis chip die used in the TX1400SGL tag, with the common 3D9.257 code mask.
²Newer TX1400SST tags contain chips manufactured by EM Microelectronic, with a code mask of 3D9.1C2.

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