Indirect validation of the age-reading method for Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) using otoliths from marked and recaptured fish

• Main Authors: Roberson, Nancy E., Kimura, Daniel K., Gunderson, Donald R., Shimada, Allen M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Fisheries; Bering Sea; Pacific
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1834/26256

Two examples of indirect validation are described for age-reading methods of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). Aging criteria that exclude faint translucent zones (checks) in counts of annuli and criteria that include faint zones wereboth tested. Otoliths from marked and recaptured fish were used to back-calculate the length of each fish at the time of its release by using measurements of the area ofannuli. Estimated fish size at time of release and actual observed fish size were similar, supporting the assumption that translucent zones are laid down on an annual basis. Asecond method for validating reading criteria used otolith age and von Bertalanffy parameters, estimated from the tagging data, to predict how much each fish grew in lengthafter tagging. We found that otolith aging criteria applied to otoliths from tagged and recovered Pacific cod predictedquite accurately the growth increments that we observed in these specimens. These results provide further evidence that the current aging criteria are not underestimating theage of the fish and support our current interpretation of checks (i.e., as subannual marks). We expect these indirect validations to advance age determination for Pacific cod, which in turn would enhance development of stock assessment methods based on age structure for this species in the eastern Bering Sea.