Regional Committee on Marking and Tagging
The Regional Committee on Marking and Tagging (RCMT) is a technical committee that evaluates regional marking proposals and coordinates coastwide agreements on marking salmonid stocks. Its function is to ensure the integrity of the stock identification information provided by marking, sampling, and data exchange programs, for its use in stock assessment, harvest management, and enhancement evaluation.
With the current role of CWT in stock assessments conducted by Pacific Salmon Commission technical committees, special emphasis has been placed on the coordination and maintenance of the coastwide CWT program.
Responsibilities
- Coordinate the coastwide CWT marking program, in collaboration with Pacific Salmon Commission technical committees.
- Establish regional agreements and coordination of marking and recovery techniques for stock identification of anadromous salmonids.
- Review all marking and tagging proposals that do not have international ramifications, and determine if the proposal is acceptable as presented, requires modification, or must be denied due to its technical impacts.
- Provide technical review and recommendations to the proposing agency, affected agencies, and the Pacific Salmon Commission for all marking and tagging proposals with international impacts, when requested.
- Provide data management consultation and related technical advice to the Pacific Salmon Commission’s technical committees (i.e., Selective Fishery Evaluation Committee, Chinook Technical Committee, Coho Technical Committee, Technical Committee on Data Sharing, and Working Group on Data Standards).
- Establish priorities and coordinate plans to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and timeliness of data acquisition and delivery.
- Promote the development and implementation of coastwide data collection and reporting standards to facilitate the CWT and catch/sample data exchanges.
- Advance knowledge of marking and recovery technology, research and development.
- Provide oversight and guidance to the Regional Mark Coordinator in serving as chairperson of the RCMT and in carrying out duties as Regional Mark Processing Center’s Program Manager.
- Establish ad hoc committees or subcommittees as needed to address specific issues.
Interactions with the Pacific Salmon Commission
The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) has the lead role in evaluating proposals for adipose mass marking and selective fisheries when there are impacts on PSC CWT indicator stocks and/or mark sampling programs or on the information they provide.
The RCMT can provide technical review and recommendations to the Pacific Salmon Commission for all marking and tagging proposals with international impacts.
Interactions with the Regional Mark Processing Center
The RCMT also provides technical guidance to PSMFC for management of the Regional Mark Processing Center.
PSMFC is responsible for management, day to day supervision, and administrative support of the Regional Mark Processing Center.
Meetings
The RCMT meets at least annually on a rotational basis by state/province to facilitate coastwide coordination of anadromous salmonid marking and CWT programs. Marking proposals, proposed marking restrictions, and requests for exemptions/variances to marking agreements are presented, discussed, and if possible, agreed upon.
Agency cooperation with marking agreements is voluntary, but fully expected of all agencies.
Whenever possible, agreements are reached by full consensus, which is defined as a decision that is reached unanimously with no formal objections. When full consensus is not possible, agreements are reached by majority vote, which requires a quorum of 75% (a minimum of 9) of the RCMT members or their proxies..
Next RCMT Meeting
May 7th to 9th, 2024
Hosted by ADFG
1255 W. 8th Street, Juneau, AK
In-person and virtual
May 7th: 10:30am to 5pm (Alaska time)
May 8th: 9am to11:30, with afternoon site visit
May 9th: 9am to 11am
Agenda
See document table below for agenda and remote participation information
Members and Chair
The RCMT is represented either directly or indirectly by all coded wire tagging and/or recovery agencies and tribes on the Pacific coast, and includes twelve voting members.
The Regional Mark Processing Center’s Program Manager serves as chairperson of the RCMT, as well as serving as the Regional Mark Coordinator.
Topic Specific Documents
Documents requested by the RCMT members are accessible below and on the Coded Wire Tag webpage.
Current Voting Members
Canada
- Kathy Fraser, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO (1 voting member)
United States
- Steven Leask, Metlakatla Indian Community, MIC, representing 1 tribe in S.E. Alaska
- Ashley Shaffer, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, NWIFC, representing 20 Treaty Tribes of western Washington
- Marianne McClure, Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, CRITFC, representing 4 Treaty Tribes in the Columbia River Basin
- Michele Masuda, National Marine Fisheries Service, NMFS
- Ben Cross, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USFWS
- Dion Oxman, Alaska Department of Fish and Game. ADFG
- Jason Azat, California Department of Fish and Game, CDFG
- Brian Leth, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, IDFG
- Trevor Clark. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, ODFW
- Jillian Cady, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, WDFW
Coordinating Agency
Nancy Leonard, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
Committee Documents
Please note, that within all pre-2023 the meeting minutes documents all links beginning with https://www.rmpc.org/files/mark-mtg- no longer function as these documents are now in the associated zipped meeting material below.
| File | Description | Meeting Dates | File Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 RCMT Meeting Notes | Official meeting minutes from the 2024 RCMT annual meeting | May 2024 | 2024 |
| Request for Use of Non-CWT Wire Form (2023 version) | This form is to provide information when requesting the use of non-coded wire tag (CWT) wires for marking fish. This form is to be submitted to the Regional Committee on Marking and Tagging for review. The information is necessary to assess impacts of the marking variance to the coastwide coded wire tag (CWT) program. This form replaced the previously named form: Request for Marking Variance (last updated 2022) | 2023 | |
| 2024 RCMT Annual Meeting Agenda | Agenda for the 2024 RCMT annual meeting | May 2024 | 2024 |
| Coded-Wire Tag Sampling: The Case for Electronic-Field Detection | Many CWT sampling programs of commercial fisheries have transitioned to electronic-field detection, while others are still visual-field only, examining snouts from all adipose-clipped salmon, even those without CWTs. Because some CWT salmon are released from hatcheries without any external marks, visual-field only programs also fail to sample these CWTs. In 2012, we used electronic tag detection at a processing plant in Kodiak, Alaska, to scan Chinook salmon caught as bycatch in the US North Pacific groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska. Electronic-field detection increased CWT recovery rates over visual-field detection of adipose-clipped Chinook salmon, and an estimated 64–74% of adipose-clipped Chinook salmon sampled had no CWTs. Visual-field only CWT sampling programs may unnecessarily process large numbers of untagged, adipose-clipped salmon while also recovering fewer CWTs than comparable electronic sampling programs. | May 2024 | 2024 |
| All Agency Update 2024 | 2024 All Agency update for the 2024 Annual Meeting | May 2024 | 2024 |
| RCMT 2000 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 2000 annual RCMT meeting | 2000 | |
| RCMT 1999 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1999 RCMT annual meeting | 1999 | |
| RCMT 1999 Meeting Agenda | Official meeting agenda from 1999 RCMT annual meeting | 1999 | |
| RCMT 1998 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1998 RCMT annual meeting | 1998 | |
| RCMT 1997 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1997 RCMT annual meeting | 1997 | |
| RCMT 1996 Meeting Agenda | Official meeting agenda from 1996 RCMT annual meeting | 1996 | |
| RCMT 1995 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1995 RCMT annual meeting | 1995 | |
| RCMT 1996 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1996 RCMT annual meeting | 1996 | |
| RCMT 1995 Meeting Agenda | Official meeting agenda from 1995 RCMT annual meeting | 1995 | |
| RCMT 1994 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1994 RCMT annual meeting | 1994 | |
| RCMT 1994 Meeting Agenda | Official meeting agenda from 1994 RCMT annual meeting | 1994 | |
| RCMT 1993 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1993 RCMT annual meeting | 1993 | |
| RCMT 1992 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1992 RCMT annual meeting | 1992 | |
| RCMT 1991 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1991 RCMT annual meeting | 1990 | |
| RCMT 1990 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1990 RCMT annual meeting | 1990 | |
| RCMT 1987 Meeting Minutes | Official meeting minutes from 1987 RCMT annual meeting | 1987 | |
| RCMT 1986 Meeting Minutes | Official 1986 meeting minutes from annual RCMT meeting | 1986 | |
| RCMT 1985 Meeting Minutes | RCMT meeting minutes from the 1985 annual meeting | 1985 | |
| RCMT 1984 Meeting Materials | Meeting materials from 1984 RCMT annual meeting | 1984 | |
| RCMT 1984 Meeting Minutes | Meeting minutes from 1984 RCMT annual meeting | 1984 | |
| RCMT 1985 Meeting Agenda | Meeting agenda from 1985 RCMT annual meeting | 1985 | |
| RCMT 1984 Meeting Agenda | Meeting Agenda from the 1984 RCMT annual meeting | 1984 | |
| RCMT 1983 Meeting Minutes | The meeting minutes from the 1983 RCMT annual meeting | 1983 | |
| RCMT 1983 Meeting Agenda | Meeting agenda from the 1983 RCMT annual meeting | 1983 | |
| RCMT 1982 Meeting Agenda | Meeting agenda from the 1982 RCMT annual meeting | 1982 | |
| 1983 Policy for Marking Harvestable Steelhead Stocks in the Columbia Basin | Historical document on the final agreement on desequestering the adipose fin clip on Columbia Basin steelhead in order that the mark can be used to identify harvestable stock | 1983 | |
| RCMT Meeting Minutes 2023 | Official meeting minutes from the 2023 RCMT annual meeting | April 2023 | 2023 |
| RCMT 2023 Meeting Materials | Meeting documents for the 2023 RCMT annual meeting | April 2023 | 2023 |
| April 2023 RMPC Annual Meeting Slides Day1 | Main slide deck for day 1 of the 2023 RCMT annual meeting | April 2023 | 2023 |
| April 2023 RMPC Annual Meeting Slides Day2 | Main slide deck for day 2 of the 2023 RCMT annual meeting | 2023 | |
| RCMT 2023 Meeting Agenda | Meeting agenda from the 2023 RCMT annual meeting | April 2023 | 2023 |
| 2023 All Agency Update | All agency update from the 2023 RCMT annual meeting | April 2023 | 2023 |
| RCMT 2008 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2008 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2008 | 2008 |
| RCMT_2008_Meeting_Materals | 2008 | ||
| RCMT 2022 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2022 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held Virtually on MS-Teams. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2022 | 2022 |
| RCMT 2022 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2022 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2022 | 2022 |
| RCMT 2022 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2022 meeting Agenda. | April 2022 | 2022 |
| RCMT 2021 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2021 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held Virtually on MS-Teams. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | May 2021 | 2021 |
| RCMT 2021 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2021 meeting Materials, including presentations. | May 2021 | 2021 |
| RCMT 2021 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2021 meeting Agenda. | May 2021 | 2021 |
| RCMT 2019 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2019 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Astoria, Oregon. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2019 | 2019 |
| RCMT 2019 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2019 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2019 | 2019 |
| RCMT 2019 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2019 meeting Agenda. | April 2019 | 2019 |
| RCMT 2018 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2018 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Friday Harbor, Washington. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2018 | 2018 |
| RCMT 2018 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2018 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2018 | 2018 |
| RCMT 2018 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2018 meeting Agenda. | April 2018 | 2018 |
| RCMT 2010 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2010 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2010 | 2010 |
| RCMT 2017 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2017 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Vancouver, British Columbia. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2017 | 2017 |
| RCMT 2017 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2017 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2017 | 2017 |
| RCMT 2017 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2017 meeting Agenda. | April 2017 | 2017 |
| RCMT 2016 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2016 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Boise, Idaho. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2016 | 2016 |
| RCMT 2016 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2016 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2016 | 2016 |
| RCMT 2016 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2016 meeting Agenda. | April 2016 | 2016 |
| RCMT 2015 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2015 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Juneau, Alaska. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2015 | 2015 |
| RCMT 2015 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2015 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2015 | 2015 |
| RCMT 2015 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2015 meeting Agenda. | April 2015 | 2015 |
| RCMT 2014 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2014 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Santa Cruz, California. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2014 | 2014 |
| RCMT 2014 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2014 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2014 | 2014 |
| RCMT 2014 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2014 meeting Agenda. | April 2014 | 2014 |
| RCMT 2013 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2013 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Troutdale, Oregon. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2013 | 2013 |
| RCMT 2013 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2013 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2013 | 2013 |
| RCMT 2013 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2013 meeting Agenda. | April 2013 | 2013 |
| RCMT 2012 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2012 meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Olympia, Washington. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2012 | 2012 |
| RCMT 2012 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2012 meeting Materials, including presentations. | 2012 | |
| RCMT 2012 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2012 meeting Agenda. | April 2012 | 2012 |
| RCMT 2011 Meeting Minutes | RCMT meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting in Victoria, British Columbia. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2011 | 2011 |
| RCMT 2011 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2011 meeting Materials, including presentations. | April 2011 | 2011 |
| RCMT 2011 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2011 meeting Agenda. | April 2011 | 2011 |
| RCMT 2010 Meeting Minutes | RCMT meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Boise, Idaho See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2010 | 2010 |
| RCMT 2010 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2010 meeting Agenda. | April 2010 | 2010 |
| RCMT 2009 Meeting Minutes | RCMT meeting Minutes, includes tagging plans, meeting held in Metlakatla, Alaska. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | May 2009 | 2009 |
| RCMT 2009 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2009 meeting Materials, including presentations. | May 2009 | 2009 |
| RCMT 2009 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2009 meeting Agenda. | May 2009 | 2009 |
| RCMT 2008 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2008 meeting Minutes, meeting held in Pacific Grove, California. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2008 | 2008 |
| RCMT 2008 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2008 meeting Agenda. | April 2008 | 2008 |
| RCMT 2007 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2007 meeting Minutes, meeting held in Warm Springs, Oregon. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2007 | 2007 |
| RCMT 2007 Meeting Materials | RCMT 2007 meeting Materials, including presentations and tagging plans. | April 2007 | 2007 |
| RCMT 2007 Meeting Agenda | RCMT 2007 meeting Agenda. | April 2007 | 2007 |
| RCMT 2006 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2006 meeting Agenda & Minutes, meeting held in Port Angeles, Washington. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2006 | 2006 |
| RCMT 2005 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2005 meeting Agenda & Minutes, meeting held in Tofino, British Columbia. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2005 | 2005 |
| RCMT 2004 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2004 meeting Agenda & Minutes, meeting held in Lewiston, Idaho. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | May 2004 | 2004 |
| RCMT 2003 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2003 meeting Agenda & Minutes, meeting held in Sitka, Alaska. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | May 2003 | 2003 |
| RCMT 2002 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2002 meeting Minutes, meeting held in Pacific Grove, California (Agenda Unavailable). See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2002 | 2002 |
| RCMT 2001 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2001 meeting Agenda & Minutes, meeting held in Newport, Oregon. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2001 | 2001 |
| RCMT 2000 Meeting Minutes | RCMT 2000 meeting Agenda & Minutes, meeting held in Silverdale, Washington. See note about embedded links at top of document table. | April 2000 | 2000 |
| Regional Coordination and Agreements on Marking and Tagging Pacific Coast Salmonids (2011) | The Regional Committee on Marking and Tagging objective, interaction with Regional Mark Processing Center, membership, operating procedures, current use of coded wire tags, fin clips, current use of non-coded wire tag related marking, and coordination of new marking (variances) requests. This is the updated version of the 2001 document. | 2011 | |
| Regional Coordination and Agreements on Marking and Tagging Pacific Coast Salmonids (2001 version) | The Regional Committee on Marking and Tagging objective, interaction with Regional Mark Processing Center, membership, operating procedures, current use of coded wire tags, fin clips, current use of non-coded wire tag related marking, and coordination of new marking (variances) requests. Document updated 2001 (newer version available). | 2001 | |
| Information Content and Data Standards for a Coastwide Coded-Wire Tag Database Report TCDS (89)-1 | REPORT TCDS (89) - 1 INFORMATION CONTENT AND DATA STANDARDS FOR A COASTWIDE CODED-WIRE TAG DATABASE (published July 12, 1989) "Blue Book" Produced by: PACIFIC SALMON COMMISSION JOINT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON DATA SHARING JOINT WORKING GROUP ON MARK RECOVERY DATABASES | 1989 | |
| Specifications and Definitions for the Exchange of Coded Wire Tag Data for the North American Pacific Coast, PSC Format version 4.1 | CWT data submitted to RMIS must be exchanged in the form of a PSC Format Version 4.1 dataset. The definition and specification of PSC Format Version 4.1 is described in this document. | 2022 |
