Adam F. Palik¹, Kara E. Jaenecke¹, Joseph H. Vinarcsik¹, Matthew S. Morris², Paul J. Bentley³, Gabriel T. Brooks³

1. Ocean Associates, Inc. (under contract to NOAA Fisheries NW Fisheries Science Center), 520 Heceta Place, Hammond, OR 97121
2. Astor Environmental LLC (under contract to NOAA Fisheries NW Fisheries Science Center), 520 Heceta Place, Hammond, OR 97121
3. NOAA Fisheries, 520 Heceta Place, Hammond, OR 97121

Water intrusion of submerged antenna cable is a costly and recurring issue in underwater PIT interrogation. When moisture becomes trapped within the antenna cable, antenna current and read range are compromised and antennas must be discarded. Due to high costs associated with manufacturing our flexible antennas from custom Litz cable, we explored methods to reclaim water-intruded cable. Nitrogen purging is the process of forcing compressed nitrogen gas through an enclosed space, and is commonly used in the wire and cable industry to protect materials from oxygen, moisture, and environmental contaminants. We adopted this method to remove water from the interstitial spaces of the antenna cable in hopes of restoring function. As detailed in this poster, we successfully restored five fully inundated antennas to full functionality after subjecting them to varied levels of nitrogen purging. Compressed nitrogen is a relatively safe and widely available gas, making it a cost-effective and timely tool for researchers to mitigate equipment loss in underwater PIT-tag research.