One‐Year Retention of Passive Integrated Transponders in Adult Muskellunge, and Applications to Broodstock Management

Muskellunge Esox masquinongy are long‐lived fish that typically occur at low densities. Tracking the history of individuals used as broodstock allows accurate determination of the effective population size and is essential to meeting genetic objectives for management‐oriented hatchery propagation programs. We tested the utility of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags for tracking individual muskellunge. We placed PIT tags in the cheeks of 291 adult muskellunge netted during the spring spawning season in two Wisconsin lakes. Partial fin clips were used as a secondary mark. The lakes were sampled during the following year, and 73 fish with fin clips were recovered in a sample of 271 fish. The one‐year tag retention rate was 90.4% in the two lakes. Six fish without functional tags were examined for the presence of broken or malfunctioning tags, and all were missing tags. The use of PIT tags is feasible for adult muskellunge and is useful for maintaining individually based broodstock records.