News
For the first time in the world scientists are being able to monitor the GPS location of fish which will provide them with valuable information on the fish behavior. The research company Salmon & Trout (Laxfiskar in Icelandic) in co-operation with the Marine Research Institute and Star-Oddi started research project in 2003 where a new DST-GPS fish technology plays important role. The aim of the study is to map the distribution and behaviour ecology of brown trout 
(Salmo Trutta) in Lake Thingvallavatn, Iceland largest natural Lake (84km2). In order to do so the study takes advantages of electronic tags including the DST-GPS fish tags that enable sampling of fixed geopositions (global positioning system = GPS) of the tagged fish parallel to sampling of data on the fish depth and corresponding water temperature. When the fish is recaptured the data is retrieved from the tag.
The new GPS-DST fish tag technology was taken formally into use last 22nd December when a few large brown trout spawners of size up to 6.6 kg in weight and 86 cm in fork length were tagged in Lake Thingvallavatn with DST-GPS by Johannes Sturlaugsson at Salmon & Trout (Laxfiskar). The fish were then released and exposed to transmittings from a GPS-transmitter. The GPS-DST taggings are part of the study mentoned here above that started in 2003 that includes planned annual taggings into 2006.
The behaviour and the environment of the trout in Lake Thingvallavatn had being studied already by Sturlaugsson for several years, using traditional DSTs to sample information on the fish depth during the year and the corresponding water temperature. In the new study the DST-GPSs is an important part of the further sampling, as it enables to map the actual distribution of the trout not the least during their feeding migration phase ranging from spring to autum. Already true giants have being tagged with electronic tags as the largest fish has being nearly 10 kg in weight and more than 90 cm in length.
The study is supported by fundings from the Icelandic Power Company (Landsvirkjun, see website: http://www.lv.is/ ) , the Reykjavik Energy (Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, website: http://www.or.is) and the Thingvellir National Park (website: http://www.thingvellir.is). Further information on the technology can be found at the website http://www.star-oddi.com.
