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CORROSION RESISTANCE
OF FISH TAGGING PINS

[Marine Biological Laboratoryj

WOODS HOLE, MASS.

SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC REPORT- FISHERIES No. 262

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

(

EXPLANATORY NOTE

TTie series embodies results of Invearlgatlons, usually of restricted
@uope, intended to aid or direct management or utilization practices and as
guides for administrative or legislative action. It is issued in limited quantities
for official use of Federal, State or cooperating agencies and in processed form
for economy and to avoid delay in publication.

United States Department of the Interior, Fred A, Seaton, Secretary
Fish and Wildlife Service, Arnie J. Suoraela, Commissioner

CORROSION RESISTANCE OF FISH TAGGING PINS

Albert C. Jensen

Fishery Research Biologist

Bureau of Commercial Fisheries

United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Special Scientific Report — Fisheries No, 262

Washington, D. C.
December 1958

The Library of Congress has cataloged this publication
as follows:

Jensen, Albert C

Ci)riosinii rosistancc of K^h tiifr<i;iiin: pins. Washington,
['. S. Dt'pt. of the Interior, Fish and AVildlit'e Service, 19')H.

i; [>. illus. 27 cm. ( r. S. Fisli and Wilillile Seivkf. Six'oiiil
scientitic report : tisheries no. 262)

Bibliography : p. 4.

1. Fish tagging. i. Title. (Series)
SH11.A335 no. 262 639.2 59-60033

Library of Congress

The Fish and Wildlife Service series, Special Scientific
Report — Fisheries, is cataloged as follows:

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Special scientific report : fisheries, no. 1-
tWashington, 1949-

no. illus., maps, dlagrs. 27 cm.

Supersedes In part the Service's Special scientlflc report.

1. Fisheries — Research.
SH11.A335 639.2072 59-60217

Library of Con^nress i2]

ABSTRACT

Aquarium-held haddock were tagged with
nickel and Type 304 stainless steel pins to

compare the corrosion resistance of the two

metals. The stainless steel pins proved to

be superior.

CONTENT

Page
Conditions of the experiment

Tanks 1

Fish 1

Method of tagging 1

Control pins 2

Fish survival 2

Results

Nickel pins 2

On tagged fish 2

Controls 3

Stainless steel pins 3

On tagged fish 3

Controls 3

Discussion and conclusions 3

Effects of tags on the fish 4

Literature cited 4

Appendix

Table A 5

Table B 6

CORROSION RESISTANCE OF FISH TAGGING PINS

Wire or pins made of various metals,
including silver, platinum, copper, and
nickel, have been used extensively to fasten
tags to fish. For some years nickel pins
were used with Petersen discs to mark had-
dock (Melanogrammus aeglef inus L.) in the
Gulf of Maine (Rounsefell 1941) and on
Georges Bank. When recovered many of them
were corroded, suggesting that many tags
may have been lost from the fish. To avoid
this loss, stainless steel pins were con-
sidered as a possible substitute.

An experiment with tagged haddock was
conducted in the Fish and Wildlife Service
aquarium at Woods Hole to compare the cor-
rosion resistsince of Type 304 stainless
steel pins with that of the nickel pins used
in the past. The metallic composition and
dimensions of the two types of pins are
shown in taible 1.

CONDITIONS OF THE EXPERIMENT

Tanks

Six indoor aquaria each holding about
300 gallons were used in the experiment.

Flowing sea water at the rate of four
changes per day was supplied to the tanks
from Great Harbor, on which the laboratory
is located. The water temperature in the
tanks was recorded with a Bristol recording
thermometer* The average salinity of the
water in Great Harbor is 32 parts per thou-
sand, and because of the frequency of change
the salinity of the aqu«irium water was pre-
sumably the same.

Fish

The haddock used in the experiment
were captured by an otter trawl on Georges
Bank during Albatross III cruise 59,
April 6-12, 1955. A total of 168 fish were
transported to Woods Hole on board the ves-
sel in wooden tanks supplied with running
sea water.

Haddock are delicate and difficult to
maintain in aquaria. Four weeks were there-
fore allowed for initial mortality and to
acclimate the fish before the experiment
began. Forty-three fish survived eind 36 of
the strongest, ranging in size from 30
centimeters to 60 centimeters, were selected
for use.

Table 1. --Composition and dimensions of tagging pins —

Stainless Steel

Chromium

18. 7%

Nickel

10.7

Molybdenum

0.22

Carbon

0.08

Titanium*

0.1

Niobium*

0.1

Iron

70.1

100.0

Length (in. )

1.53

Diameter (in. )

. 035

Nickel

98. 5%

Cobalt

0. 5

Silicon

0. 3

Manganese

0.2

Copper

0.2

Iron

0.1

Length (in. )
Diameter (in. )

*Spectrographic analysis
_' Analyzed by National Bureau of Standards

99.8

1. 81

. 032

Method of Tagging

The fish were tagged with
Petersen discs on May 9 using the
technique described by Rounsefell
(1941) in which the pin is threaded
through the center of one disc and
then pushed through the operculum
from the inside. The second disc is
then threaded on the projecting point
of the pin. The surplus part of the
pin is cut off and the remainder
twisted into a loop cind bent over
with long-nosed pliers. To calm the
fish while being tagged, they were
placed in a tank containing 12 gal-
lons of sea water to which one-half
pound of ethyl carbamate (Urethane)
had been added. After about one
minute in the anesthetizing bath the
fish began to float belly up, made
only feeble swimming movements and
were generally relaxed enough to per-
mit tagging. On 18 fish the tags
were fastened with stainless steel
pins and on the other 18 fish the

tags were fastened with nickel pins. Three
fish tagged with stainless steel pins and
three fish tagged with nickel pins were
placed in each tank.

Control Pins

In addition to pins attached to the
fish, two groups of control pins were set
up to distinguish the effects of the raw
harbor water, the aquarium water and the
body fluids of the fish. A group of 10
stainless steel pins and 10 nickel pins
were put in the aquarium water with the
fish and a similar group was placed in the
harbor. Half of these pins were bent as in
tjigging and half were left straight to see
if bending affected the resistance to cor-
rosion.

rising until it reached 70° F. on July 1.
The last fish succumbed on July 12. These
data are shown in table 2.

Although 36 fish had been tagged,
only 34 tags were recovered from fish dur-
ing the course of thg. experiment . The tags
which had fallen off two fish were later
recovered from the bottom of the tank.
When a fish died its tags and pin were re-
moved intact and washed in fresh water.
The tag number, the date and the condition
of the tagging wound were noted. At the
end of the experiment the control pins were
removed from the tanks and the harbor and
washed in fresh water. All pins were exam-
ined under a binocular microscope for
evidence of corrosion.

Fish Survival

RESULTS

There was some mortality throughout
the experiment, but 20 fish survived for
eight weeks. All these died during the
ninth week, probably from lethal water tem-
peratures. Previous studies at Woods Hole
have shown that haddock do not survive well
at water temperatures higher than 65° F.
The temperature in the tanks was 53° F. on
May 9 and reached 65° F. on June 19, six
_weeks later. The temperature continued

Table 2. --Abstract of the experimental log

Nickel Pins

On Tagged Fish

Date

May 9
16
23
30

June 6
13
20
27

July 4
12

Water

Temperature

(degrees Fahrenheit)

&3
54
57
59
60
62
67
69
70
70

Number of
fish alive

All the nickel pins were corroded
except one pin that was on a fish which
died the day after tagging. Most of the
nickel pins were corroded where they passed
through the operculum and were in contact
with tissue. The degree of corrosion vaxied
from minor (staining and shallow
etching on the surface metal) to
extensive (deep etching and weaken-

ing of the metal). Two pins were

partially worn through from abrasion
by the tag discs, one was abraded
by the inner disc, the other by the
outer disc.

36
32
27
26
25
25
22
22
20
AU dead

Three pins appeared sound on
the surface but broke when bent,
revealing a hollow corroded interior
covered by a thin skin of apparently
unaffected metal. This phenomenon
has also been noted by Calhoun, Fry,
and Hughes (1951) and Forrester and
Ketchen (1955). In one case the
nickel pin weakened and broke, allow-
ing the pin head and inner disc to
fall off the fish. The rest of the
pin and the outer disc remained
attached to the fish. This probably
explains the loss of both tags by
two fish on which nickel pins had
been used. Table 3 summarizes the
condition of nickel pins on tagged
fish.

o
•o

T3
Id

O.
O

Controls

Discussion and Conclusions

All of the nickel pins in the aquarium
control lot were corroded. In the bent pins
the degree of failure ranged from pitting
and surface corrosion to hollowing. All of
the straight pins were hollowed, and broke
when tested with pliers.

The control pins in the harbor showed
varied resistance to corrosion. Two bent
pins bore minor surface corrosion at the
bend, the other three were unjiffected. Two
of the straight pins showed minor surface
corrosion and one was unaffected. The
remaining two were lost during the experi-
ment .

Stainless Steel Pins

On Tagged Fish

The stainless steel pins were almost
completely free from corrosion. Three pins
showed rust spots and one pin was partially
worn through by abrasion from the outer
disc. These results agree well with those
of Forrester and Ketchen (1955) who used
pins of Type 316 stainless steel in a field
tagging study. Type 316 differs from the
Type 304 used in this experiment mainly in
having 15 times as much molybdenum (Anon.
1947).

Controls

None of the control stainless steel
pins were affected by immersion in the
aquarium or in the harbor.

Table 3. --Summary of the average condition of the nickel
used to tag fish

Time on Fish
Days

Condition

1 - 21

22 - 42

43 - 61

62 - 64

Minor corrosion
Moderate surface corrosion
Moderate to extensive corrosion
Extensive corrosion; hollowed pins

ili

Most of the structural damage to the
pins occurred where the pin contacted fish
tissue. Body fluids of the fish may have
been primarily responsible for the corro-
sion of the nickel pins on fish. Addi-
tional factors (Calhoun, Fry and Hughes
1951) which may have entered into the pro-
cess which caused the pin damage are the
galvanic effect produced by dissimilar
metcils (i.e., stainless steel, nickel and
the iron pipes and drain screens) immersed
in the aquarium tanks and/or the concentra-
tion-cell effect produced by a metal
immersed in a mixture of electrolytes (i.e.,
fish excretory products and sea water).
Electrolysis from either cause, coupled
with actual chemical corrosion, would
accelerate destruction of the pins. This
could explain why the nickel control pins
in the tanks were more corroded than the
nickel control pins in the harbor which
corroded slightly or not at all.

The airtif iciality of the aquarium
tanks as a fish habitat should be con-
sidered before any strict conclusions are
drawn concerning the usefulness of the pins
which were tested in this study. However,
since the nickel pins did corrode in the
aquarium and to some extent in the harbor,
it is reasonable to assume they would
corrode in the open sea over a period of
months instead of weeks. This conclusion
is supported by the number of nickel pins
which have corroded in the field tagging
of haddock. Similarly, since the stainless
steel pins did not corrode in the aquarium
or in the harbor they probably would not
corrode in field use. Based on the results
of these studies we have decided to
stop using nickel pins for tagging
haddock.

Since the Type 304 stainless
steel pins we tested are resistant
to corrosion by the metabolic pro-
ducts of the haddock and also
resistant to corrosion by raw sea
water, we are using them exclusively
in field tagging of several marine
species. The pins were used in an
extensive haddock tagging program
conducted in 1956 and 1957. When
sufficient returns are available,
the relative corrosion resistjuice
of the stainless steel and the
nickel pins in actual field use will
be compared.

pins

EFFECTS OF TAGS ON THE FISH

LITERATURE CITED

Although the study was conducted to
compare the corrosion resistance of the two
types of tagging pins, observations Jilso
were made on the effects of the tags and
the tagging technique upon the opercula on
which the tcigs were fastened.

Damage to the operculum occurred in
almost all the haddock which survived more
than two weeks after tagging, varying from
a mild inflammation to severe ulceration.
In £01 extreme case, extensive necrosis
occurred which resulted in loss of the tag.
This tag was recovered intact from the bot-
tom of the tank. When examined, the fish
was found to have a raw hole about 3/4
inches in diameter where the tag had been
applied.

On seven fish the inner disc was par-
tially or completely grown over with tissue,
but no fish had only the outer disc grown
over. On one fish both inner and outer
discs were grown over. The concealment of
Petersen discs by overgrowth of tissue may
be a factor contributing to rapidly dimin-
ishing returns from field tagging (Rounse-
fall 1941).

ANONYMOUS
1947.

Fabrication of U.S.S. stainless
and heat resisting steels. U.S.
Steel Corp., Carnegie-Illinois
Steel Corp., Pittsburgh-Chicago,
136 pp.

CALHOUN, A. J., D. H. FRY, JR.,
AND E. P. HUGHES
1951. Plastic deterioration and metal
corrosion in Petersen disc tags.
Calif. Fish and Game 37(3): 301-
314.

FORRESTER, C. R. , AND K. S. KETCHEN
1955. The resistanr o salt water

corrosion of .arious types of me
metal wire used in the tagging
of flatfish. Jour. Fish. Res.
Bd. Can. 12(1): 134-142.

ROUNSEFELL, GEORGE A.

1941. Field experiments in selecting
the most efficient tag for use
in haddock studies. Trans.
Amer. Fish. Soc . 71:228-235.

Black granular tissue which sur-
rounded the pin for a radius of about 1/4
inch was seen on seven fish, five of which
had been tagged with nickel pins.

Opercular ulcerations occurred on
eight fish which were tagged with nickel
pins and on twelve which were tagged with
stainless steel pins. The small increase
in ulceration associated with the stainless
steel pins may have been a result of the
stiffness of these pins. They are slightly
more resistant to bending than are the
nickel pins. The tagger's unfamiliar ity
with the new pin materieil caused him to
exert more pressure when twisting the pins
and this resulted in tight tags. Pressure
from the tag discs probably caused a sore
to develop beneath the discs which ulti-
mately led to a deep ulceration. This
hypothesis cibout the causes of the tagging
wounds is supported by the effects of three
tags which had been loosely fastened. One
fish had been tagged with a stainless steel
pin and developed only a slight sore under
the discs. The other two fish had been
tagged with nickel pins; one developed no
sore under the discs, the second developed
only minor sores.

APPENDIX

Table A. --Condition of pins and opercula following tagging
Nickel Pins

Tag

Day!

No.

Fish

Pin Condition

Operculum Condition Remarks

No corrosion

Minor surface corrosion at

operculum.

Minor surface corrosion at

operculum.

Minor surface corrosion at

operculum.

Moderate surface corrosion

at operculum.

Moderate surface corrosion

at operculum.

Hollowed at operculum.

Lost in tank.
Extensive surface corro-
sion at operculum. Abraded
by inner disc.
Moderate surface corro-
sion at operculum. Abraded
by outer disc.
Extensive surface corro-
sion at operculum.

Moderate surface corro-
sion at operculum.

Moderate surface corro-
sion at operculum. Pin
pitted near head on shank.

Good
Good

Good

Ulcerated, both
sides.

Good

Minor sore, both
sides.

Minor ulceration
externally. Inner
disc grown over.
Moderate ulceration
externally. Inner
disc grown over.
Severe ulceration
externally. Inner
disc grown over.
Severe ulceration
externally. Moderate
ulceration internally.
Moderate ulceration
both sides.

Minor surface corrosion
at operculum.

Good

Moderate surface corro-

Minor ulcers

sion at operculum. Pitted

both sides.

under head.

Hollowed at operculum.

Decomposed

Hollowed and broken. Head
and inner disc missing in
tank.

Good

Lost in tank.

Black granular tissue
around pin.

Tight tag, dropped off
operculum.

Black granular tissue
around pin.

Loose tag.

Dead in tank several

days.

Part of tag broken

off.

— / Days on fish refers to elapsed time between the day the fish was tagged and the day it died.

APPENDIX

Table B. --Condition of pins and opercula following tagging
Stainless Steel Pins

Tag

Days on
Fish i/

Pin Condition

No.

No corrosion

Rust spot at twist,

No corrosion.

No corrosion

Operculum Condition

Remarks

42
91

64
39

03
46

58
58

61
61

63
64

Abraded by outer
disc. Rust spot
at twist.
No corrosion
No corrosion

No corrosion

No corrosion except

black spot near pin

head.

Abraded by outer disc.

Rust spot at twist.

No corrosion

Good

Good
Moderate ulceration both
sides of operculum.
Ulcerated, both sides.
Ulcerated, both sides,
yicerated, both sides.
Inner Euid outer discs
grown over.

Minor ulceration externally.
Inner disc grown over.
Moderate ulceration exter-
nally. Inner disc partially
grown over.

Severe ulceration exter-
nally. Inner disc grown
over.

Good
Severe ulceration exter-
nally. Inner disc grown
over.

Severe ulceration, both
sides.

Severe ulceration, both

sides.

Minor ulceration

externally.

Tight tag.

Black granular
tissue around pin.

Tight tag.

Black granular tissue
around pin.
Loose tag.

—I Days on fish refers to elapsed time between the day the fish was tagged and the day it died.

INT.-DOP. SEC, WASH., D.C. u 8 U 3 0

MBL WHOI Library - Serials

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Full text of "Special scientific report"

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