=============================
ISLANDS "GLISTEN" WITH EXCRETED RFID TAGS
==============================
Caspian terns who fish in the Columbia Riger Basin are eating RFID-laced salmon and excreting the tags in their nests, causing two main islands the birds inhabit to "glisten" in the sunlight, according to an article at IT World Canada.
Two million salmon are implanted with the tracking
tags each year by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a
federally-owned public utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The tags have been used since 1986 to track salmon migration through the Columbia River system.
Since each RFID tag contains a unique number, biologists can log a
detailed history on the fish as they swim past RFID readers stationed at the river system's dams and waterways. Data includes details like the "sub-species of the fish, age, waterway and habitat of origin, condition of the fish, and so on," according to a BPA spokesman.
The article does not indicate whether any studies are being made of the excreted tags and their impact on the birds' health or the environment.
http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/News/f074f0e3-3f68-4820-a841-b37de22673ab.html
http://i.cmpnet.com/infoweek/blog/podcasts/Albrecht_part_1.mp3
Mmmm, getting all podcasty with a feast of arphids injecting your flesh
