Fun_People Archive
5 Jan
Technology on the march...

Date: Tue,  5 Jan 93 12:51:14 PST
To: Fun_People
Subject: Technology on the march...

 From: dante@microsoft.com
 Subject: FW: Bar-code fish
<other forwards removed>

Hatcheries Bar Code Fish, Naturally

EVERETT, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 DEC 18 (NB) -- The
Washington State Department of Fisheries and Intermec have
figured out a clever way to bar code fish in hatcheries so
their origin can be traced. By identifying the fish,
researchers hope to be able to get better information on
pollution, habitat damage, and survival rates.

The method doesn't involve any handling of the fish, but is
done in the hatchery during the embryo state of Salmon. A
calcified element in the ear of fish, called an otolith,
shows daily growth rings. By slightly lowering and raising
the incubation water temperature for brief periods over 14
days, Intermec has been able to produce in the otolith rings
in an Interleaved 2 of 5 bar code, representing the digit
"6," on two million salmon raised in the Cowlitz Hatchery
in Washington state.

The Interleaved 2 of 5 code was chosen because it's more
easily visible to the human eye.

One digit isn't enough, however, and tests are currently
being done with 10 different incubation environments being
used to encode 10 different digits. Intermec says the
technique could be refined so it could be used to uniquely
identify fish from every hatchery, and even sub units of
hatcheries.

Intermec, a division of Litton Industrial Automation, says
it has bar coded other animals including, bees and moths.
The company says its business is data collection hardware,
software, systems, services, and supplies.

   (Linda Rohrbough/19921217/Press Contact: Kimberly Lombard,
   Intermec, tel 206-348-2600, fax 206-355-9551)

© 1993 Peter Langston