Field Hacks for the European Tracking Network (ETN): How to make your ETN project connect before the first receiver hits the water

Whether you’re tagging fish in a river mouth or deploying receivers along a migration corridor, success in acoustic telemetry depends on one thing: connection.

In a continent-wide collaboration like the European Tracking Network (ETN), every tag, receiver, and ping contributes to a shared picture of aquatic life across Europe. These two Field Hacks will help you prepare your project from the start – so every detection you collect strengthens the network that connects us all.

Field Hack #1: Prepare for ETN before deployment
If you’re tracking aquatic animals and want your work to connect with and benefit from ETN, start planning early.

Aligning your hardware and data setup before fieldwork ensures your project integrates seamlessly into Europe’s shared research infrastructure.
“It’s a community system,” says Dr. Jan Reubens, Chair of ETN. “The earlier you align, the more you get back. If you use the same signal and register your project, your fish will be detected across Europe and you’ll see detections from others, too.”

Benefit✅
Maximize the impact of your deployments – your tags become part of a shared European network.

Challenge⚠️
Deploying before preparation can cause mismatched data formats, duplicated IDs, or missed detections – limiting collaboration potential.

How to prepare:

1. Choose Open Protocol (OP) hardware
Select tags and receivers that support Open Protocol. This ensures compatibility with all ETN stations, regardless of brand, and keeps your project future-proof.

2. Register early
Upload project metadata and tag IDs to the ETN data portal before deployment. This avoids ID conflicts and ensures your data flows to the right place.

3. Coordinate locally
Reach out to nearby ETN members. Collaboration avoids signal overlap, enables shared receiver coverage, and strengthens connections from local to continental scale.