The scantrol FishMeter for recording fish length, weight and biological data

The collection of biological data has always been an important part of scientific work in fisheries research. In most cases, records have been written down on a piece of paper and then typed into a computer, but electronic devices that automate length measurements have also been developed. This contribution describes an electronic measurement system called the FishMeter, which makes it possible to register and store the length and biological parameters of a fish sample. The FishMeter can either be operated as a stand-alone unit or be connected to a computer for real-time data-logging, in which case a Windows 95/NT-compatible program is used to configure the FishMeter and to enter and retrieve data. The FishMeter also has two serial ports, to which for instance an electronic balance or a PIT tag reader can be connected. The FishMeter can define 100 species and record up to 40 parameters for each species. As many as 10 000 records can be stored within the unit itself.