Guidelines for calculating and enhancing detection efficiency of PIT tag interrogation systems

With increasing use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and reliance on stationary PIT tag interrogation systems to monitor fish populations, guidelines are offered to inform users how best to use limited funding and human resources to create functional systems that maximize a desired level of detection and precision. The estimators of detection efficiency and their variability as described by Connolly et al. (2008) are explored over a span of likely performance metrics. These estimators were developed to estimate detection efficiency without relying on a known number of fish passing the system. I present graphical displays of the results derived from these estimators to show the potential efficiency and precision to be gained by adding an array or by increasing the number of PIT-tagged fish expected to move past an interrogation system.