The TROVAN system is widely used in South America and Europe for salmon identification
The TROVAN system is widely used in South America and Europe for salmon identification, and also around the world in sturgeon, tilapia, arowana, trout, koi, sea urchins, beche de mere, eel, starfish and others. The TROVAN system has been the preferred technology for over 25 years due to the following major advantages:
(1) Superior performance compared to competing technologies. TROVAN transponders have an exceptional read range (relative to their small size) and an unmatched read speed. Read range and read speed determine whether a transponder can be read reliably and quickly. TROVAN transponders can be read easily, for instance through the animal's flesh and skin, at odd angles, at a convenient distance. Depending upon the type of transponder and reader selected and the operating environment, read ranges of up to 60 cm are achievable. The TROVAN system offers submersible single panel readers capable of reading fish swimming in the water: it is not necessary to touch the animal in order to read it. (2) Smallest implantable ID available (2.2 mm dia. x 11 mm±0.5 mm length). Small size is the best indicator of non-migration and transponder longevity. Trials have shown that large-size implanted transponders are prone to cause abscesses or inflammations and result in microchip breakage or inoperability. (3) Tamper-proof unique ID numbers. Unique ID numbers are essential to ensure 100% positive identification of individual animals. The microchip is implanted into the fish to ensure permanent, lifelong ID. The ID code is laser-programmed into the TROVAN microchip during manufacture and cannot be altered or duplicated. The importance of read range cannot be overemphasized. (1) Read range and animal mortality. All other factors being equal, ID-100 transponders have a significantly longer read range than competing solutions. This is extremely important for ID applications involving aquatic species, due to the fact that length of handling time and intensiveness of handling correlates directly with stress, and the resulting mortality rates. Long read range means that you can detect the transponder on the first pass at a panel reader, rather than having to iron the animal repeatedly with a short range hand held reader, as is necessary for our competitors’ systems. (2) Read range and data integrity. Users of competing systems have also complained that fish chipped as juveniles are no longer detectable as adults. The reason is that the growth of the fish has put the transponder "out of range" due to its short read range. Such fish have to be rechipped and all associated data on said specimen is lost. (3) Automation of operations. Due to the unmatched read range of the ID-100 series transponder a number of other innovations become possible. A number of facilities have implemented continuously reading underwater panel readers. The fish are channeled past them using a clear plexiglass funneling system and this allows detection of the fish completely without human contact and without having to remove from the fish from the water at all. The TROVAN system is the only one with sufficient performance to allow underwater detection of adult salmon while still complying with European and North American regulatory guidelines for electro-magnetic emissions.
The readers we recommend for fish identification are the GR-250 High Performance Portable Reader, because of its superior read range, read area and read speed with ID-100 transponders, as well as its water resistance. We have heard from customers who accidentally dropped the reader in the ocean, and it quickly popped to the surface and did not suffer damage from the experience when removed.
We also offer the LID-650/ANT-612IP68 panel configuration, which panel may be submerged in water, and the LID-650/ANT-C600 which is can be used to automatically capture the identity of fish being moved from one tank to another, or from a truck to a tank.
Data sheets for these products are attached.
The FishReader W is an integrated data collection station that may be used for fish such as trout, tilapia, salmon etc, as well as crustaceans. For adult salmon and possibly sturgeon and external scale head may be attached to accommodate heavier weights and larger body mass. You can see the video on the FishReader W here:
On the video, you can see how the DataPoints are used.
A total of 12 DataPoints are embedded along the front of the FishReader. Each DataPoint can be associated with a particular data item, at the customer’s option, using the ZeusCapturer software.
For instance: one data point can be assigned the meaning “MALE”; the second point can be “FEMALE”.
So, if the operator scans the corresponding data point using the PEN antenna, that data item is automatically entered into Excel: no typing needed!
12 ea. Datapoints means that you can have 12 items of data, for example:
MALE
FEMALE
DEFORMED TAIL FORK
DEFORMED DORSAL FIN
VERY SPECKLED APPEARANCE
MODERATELY SPECKLED APPEARANCE
LIGHTLY SPECKLED APPEARANCE
NOT SPECKLED
or anything else that you choose.
These DataPoints can be assigned different meanings depending on the testing being done, and each testing program can be saved in the ZeusCapturer software for easy recall.
The fish measuring board lets you measure the length of the fish and automatically enter the length measurement into Excel by using the PEN antenna to read the transponders embedded in the fish measuring board at 1 cm intervals. Each embedded transponder is associated to a length measurement (e.g. 6 cm, 7 cm, 8 cm etc.), and by scanning it with the PEN antenna, you can enter the length measurement automatically in Excel without typing it.
You can see this process in the video at the 0:25 to 0:32 minute mark.
There is also an extra transponder which lets you capture 1/2 cm intervals off to the side.
So you read the transponder at the 25 cm mark, and then you read 0.5 cm transponder off to the left if you want to capture a length of 25.5 cm.
The PrintReader is a stand-alone printer solution that can be used to generate barcodes matching transponder ID codes, for instance for trays in incubators, batches of semen or eggs etc.
PrintReader video is here:
If you identify any customers (either in Costa Rica or Israel) interested in a quotation for any of the above solutions, or have any questions about the technology, please get in touch.
Best regards,
