Elliot Koontz

Four Peaks Environmental Science and Data Solutions, 338 South Mission Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801

Over the past several decades, various agencies have been releasing hundreds of thousands of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in the Puget Sound region. Despite the redundancy between many of these efforts, the management of these data is largely idiosyncratic and specific to the collection agency, stymieing efforts to create a more standardized management system and move towards a regional data system. We will discuss a case-study in building a PIT-tag data management system for a group in Puget Sound, incorporating tagging data with detections, as well as relevant environmental data on flow, temperature, and tide height, into a single integrated data management system. We demonstrate some difficulties in integrating into the current PIT Tag Information System (PTAGIS) and the potential for a regional-scale database to better address regional concerns. Our intention is to create opportunities for partnerships and encourage the development of a broader regional-specific PIT-tag database similar to PTAGIS.