A system for automatic recording of fish tagged with coded acoustic transmitters

A telemetry system designed to automatically record the presence and swimming direction of fish tagged with coded acoustic transmitters is described. The present paper presents results from an extensive mapping of signal strengths and the proportion of correctly identified codes from a transmitter at various positions outside automatic listening stations (ALS). The system is evaluated on the basis of two field seasons, during which 107 Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., were tagged with acoustic transmitters in a fjord system in south-western Norway. By installing one ALS (two at high water discharges) in the mouth of the River Suldalslågen and two ALSs in the Hylsfjord, the presence and swimming direction of all tagged salmon entering the river and the inner part of the 750-m-wide Hylsfjord were recorded.