Abstract
Canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) have long been an important part of recreational and commercial rockfish fishing from south-east Alaska to southern California, but localised stock abundances have declined considerably. Based on age estimates from otoliths and other structures, lifespan estimates vary from ∼20 years to over 80 years. For the purpose of monitoring stocks, age composition is routinely estimated by counting growth zones in otoliths; however, age estimation procedures and lifespan estimates remain largely unvalidated. Typical age validation techniques have limited application for canary rockfish because they are deep-dwelling and may be long-lived. In this study, the unaged otolith of the pair from fish aged at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada was used in one of two age validation techniques: (1) lead-radium dating and (2) bomb radiocarbon (14C) dating. Age estimate accuracy and the validity of age estimation procedures were validated based on the results from each technique. Lead-radium dating proved successful in determining that a minimum estimate of lifespan was 53 years and provided support for age estimation procedures up to ∼50-60 years. These findings were further supported by Δ14C data, which indicated that a minimum estimate of lifespan was 44 ± 3 years. Both techniques validate, to differing degrees, age estimation procedures and provide support for inferring that canary rockfish can live more than 80 years.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 531-541 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Marine and Freshwater Research |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2007 |
Keywords
- Accelerator mass spectrometry
- Age estimation
- Alpha-spectrometry
- Carbon-14
- Lead-210
- Radiometry
- Radium-226
- Scorpaenidae
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oceanography
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Aquatic Science
- Ecology