Technology procurement in government has a reputation for being a little-understood, back-office task that many would find mundane. Sometimes, this perception is deserved.
Occasionally, though, there are some purchases out there that you wouldn't immediately think of. Case in point: The state buys mini-transmitters to tag salmon.
When the Department of Fish and Wildlife needed approximately 1,800 of these acoustic micro-tags, they went through the Statewide Technology Procurement Division to buy them. (A company called Vet National has been selected via an Intent to Award.)
The devices consist of a tag controller and activator, a hexadecimal ID number for each tag, a three-year battery life, and weigh a third of a gram.
The tags are compatible with the Juvenile Salmonid Acoustic Tracking System, which was first launched in 2001 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The system has been used in the Pacific Northwest, California and around the world to study fish mortality rates, species movement and other scientific endeavors.
