RE: NANFA-- Sacrificing or immobilizing fish

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus_at_hotmail.com)
Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:48:01 -0400

<x-flowed>
>The only anaesthetic registered in North America for use in fisheries
>science is 3-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester methanesulfate (tricaine or
>MS-222). Although MS-222 is a very effective anaesthesia for several fish
>species, its application in the field is limited because U.S. Food and Drug
>Administration guidelines demand a 21d withdrawal period after exposure to
>MS-222 before fish can be released and enter the food chain. As a

Really? I had no idea that there was an official FDA position on releasing
wild fish with a 21-day delay after MS-222 treatment. We used MS-222 when I
was in graduate school to _mildly_ anesthetize sunfish we seined before we
pulled off scales for aging studies. We'd put them in a bucket of fresh
water to recover for about an hour before release, so that they weren't
obviously groggy. I know that aquaculture operators have very strict
guidelines about a time gap between giving a fish MS-222 and selling the
fish for food.

And as always, thanks for the refs, Jan. The correct dosage of clove oil had
completely slipped my mind...

--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org
</x-flowed>