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Removal of Calcein in Wastewater Produced from the Batch Marking of Fish
Author(s) -
Mohler Jerre W.,
Bradley Kelly M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/m07-142.1
Subject(s) - calcein , wastewater , hatchery , fish <actinopterygii> , pulp and paper industry , activated carbon , fishery , chromatography , chemistry , sewage treatment , environmental science , biology , environmental engineering , membrane , biochemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , adsorption
The fluorochrome dye known as calcein (trade name SE‐MARK; Western Chemical, Ferndale, Washington) is currently being tested to determine its utility for creating lethally and nonlethally detectable fluorescent marks on bony tissues of fish via batch immersion. The work is being done under an Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) exemption granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, conditions set forth in the INAD prohibit discharge of waste calcein solution from hatchery facilities, making calcein impractical for marking otoliths in certain fish (e.g., larval American shad Alosa sapidissima) due to the large volumes of wastewater created from the marking process. We performed simple laboratory tests that demonstrated the efficiency of activated carbon for removing the dye from solution; we also developed an adsorptive capacity model at calcein concentrations of 125 and 250 mg/L. Evaluation of a treatment column and a batch‐type treatment showed that 7.3 and 6.6 g of carbon/L of used marking solution effectively removed the dye from 125‐ and 250‐mg/L calcein solutions, respectively. We report that activated carbon treatment provides a practical means of eliminating calcein dye from used marking solutions. This treatment technique facilitates expanded use of SE‐MARK by fisheries managers as a tool that can be used alone or in conjunction with oxytetracycline to produce unique marks in groups of fish.