Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF06181
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(5)

Application of a ‘case building approach’ to investigate the age distributions and growth dynamics of Australian sardine (Sardinops sagax) off South Australia

P. J. Rogers A B and T. M. Ward A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), PO Box 120, Henley Beach, Adelaide, SA 5022, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: rogers.paul2@saugov.sa.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 58(5) 461-474 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06181
Submitted: 4 October 2006  Accepted: 21 February 2007   Published: 22 May 2007

Abstract

Like many pelagic fish, sardine Sardinops sagax is difficult to age by counting structures in otoliths. Of 12 968 whole otoliths analysed in the present study, <25% could be counted with accuracies of greater than ±1 zone. Estimates of average percentage error (APE) were high (11.37%). We used a ‘case building approach’ to corroborate a method for estimating age. Regressions of otolith weight–age from otoliths with high readabilities were used to estimate the age of fish with lower or unreadable otoliths. Growth rates determined from daily increments ranged from 0.36 to 0.75 mm day–1 for larvae and from 0.22 to 0.47 mm day–1 for juveniles. Estimates of von Bertalanffy growth coefficients were k = 0.32–1.07 year–1 and L∞ = 166.96–195.68 mm. Growth parameters estimated during the present study support previous assertions that levels of pelagic production in South Australian (SA) waters lie between those recorded in the predominantly oligotrophic waters off Western Australia (WA) and the productive waters off southern California and South Africa. Disparities in the age distributions of inshore and offshore samples suggest that age data from commercial catch samples may not be representative of the population. This finding has implications for the use of age-structured models to assess of stocks of S. sagax and other small pelagic fishes.

Additional keywords: mass mortality event, otolith weight, recovery.


Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (Project No. 2000/125). SARDI Aquatic Sciences provided in-kind support. We would like to thank Lachlan McLeay, David Schmarr, Richard Saunders, Nathan Strong, Alex Ivey and Megan Westlake who assisted in the field and laboratory. A portion of the larval length-age data was collected during an Honours study conducted by Nathan Strong. Wetjens Dimmlich provided constructive comments on drafts of the manuscript and helped to collect samples. Dr Yongshun Xiao provided valuable assistance with the growth modelling. Sid Hanson, Tony Jones, Tony Rowlings and Alex Jelanek of SA Premium Pilchards and licence holders in the South Australian Sardine Fishery provided samples from commercial catches. We also thank the master and crew of RV ‘Ngerin’, including Neil Chigwidden, Dave Kerr, Chris Small and Ralph Putz, for help to collect samples during numerous research surveys. We thank Dr Chris Francis (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, NIWA) for email discussions on Bayesian age estimation techniques for estimating proportions at age.


References

Alheit, J. , and Niquen, M. (2004). Regime shifts in the Humboldt Current ecosystem. Progress in Oceanography 60, 201–222.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Baird D. (1970). ‘Age and Growth of the South African Pilchard, Sardinops ocellata.’ Investigational Report No. 91. (South African Division of Sea Fisheries: Capetown.)

Barnes, J. T. , and Foreman, T. J. (1994). Recent evidence for the formation of annual growth increments in the otoliths of young Pacific sardines (Sardinops sagax). California Fish and Game 80, 29–35.
FAO (2003). http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/statist.asp

Fey, D. P. , and Hare, J. A. (2005). Length correction for larval and early juvenile Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyearannus) after preservation in alcohol. Fishery Bulletin 103, 725–727.
Gaughan D. J., and Mitchell R. W. D. (2000). ‘The Biology and Stock Assessment of the Tropical Sardine, Sardinella lemuru, off the Mid-West Coast of Western Australia.’ Final Report to FRDC No. 119. (Fisheries Western Australia: North Beach.)

Gaughan D. J., Fletcher W. J., Tregonning R. J., and Goh J. (1996). ‘Aspects of the Biology and Stock Assessment of the Whitebait, Hyperlophus vittatus, in South Western Australia.’ Fisheries Research Report No. 108. (Fisheries Department of Western Australia: Perth.)

Gaughan, D. J. , Fletcher, W. J. , and White, K. V. (2001a). Growth rate of larval Sardinops sagax from ecosystems with different levels of productivity. Marine Biology 139, 831–837.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Gayanilo F. C.Jr, and Pauly D. (1997). ‘The FAO-ICALRM Stock Assessment Tools (FiSAT). Reference Manual.’ (FAO: Rome.)

Gillanders, B. M. , Ferrell, D. J. , and Andrew, N. L. (1999). Aging methods for yellowtail kingfish, Seriola lalandi, and results from age- and size-based growth models. Fishery Bulletin 97, 812–827.
Goldsworthy S. D., Bulman C., He X., Larcombe J., and Littnan C. (2003). Trophic interactions between marine mammals and Australian fisheries: an ecosystem approach. In ‘Marine Mammals: Fisheries Tourism and Management Issues’. (Eds N. Gales, M. Hindell and R. Kirkwood.) pp. 62–99. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Gomon M. F., Glover J. C. M., and Kuiter R. H. (1994). ‘The Fishes of Australia’s South Coast.’ (State Print: Adelaide.)

Haddon M. (2001). ‘Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries.’ (Chapman and Hall/CRC: Boca Raton, FL.)

Hayashi, A. , Yamashita, Y. , Kawaguchi, K. , and Ishii, T. (1989). Rearing method and daily otolith ring of Japanese sardine larvae. Nippon Suisan Gakkai Shi 55, 997–1000.
Jobling M. (2002). Environmental factors and rates of development and growth. In ‘Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries. Vol. 1: Fish Biology’. (Eds. P. J. B. Hart and J. D. Reynolds.) pp. 96–122. (Blackwell: Oxford.)

Kämpf, J. , Doubell, M. , Griffin, D. , Matthews, R. L. , and Ward, T. M. (2004). Evidence of a large seasonal coastal upwelling system along the southern shelf of Australia. Geophysical Research Letters 31, L09310..
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kerstan M., Waldron M., and Bloomer S. (1996). Age determination of sardines. In ‘Workshop on Southern African Sardine: Proceedings and Recommendations. Benguela Ecology Program Report No. 29’. (Eds M. Barange and C. van der Lingen.) pp. 50–52. (South African Division of Sea Fisheries: Cape Town.)

Lasker R. (1985). ‘An Egg Production Method For Estimating Spawning Biomass Of Pelagic Fish: Application To Northern Anchovy, Engraulis mordax.’ NOAA Technical Report NMFS 36. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: La Jolla, CA.)

Lluch-Belda, D. , Hernandez-Vazquez, S. , Lluch-Cota, D. B. , Salinas-Zavala, C. A. , and Schwartzlose, R. A. (1992). The recovery of the Californian sardine as related to global change. CalCOFI Reports 33, 50–59.
Lyle J. M., Krusic-Golub K., and Morison A. K. (2000). ‘Age and Growth of Jack Mackerel and the Age Structure of the Jack Mackerel Purse Seine Catch.’ FRDC Final Report. FRDC Project No. 1995/034. (Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute: Tarroona, Tas.)

Mann K. H., and Lazier J. R. N. (1996). ‘Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems.’ (Blackwell: Oxford.)

McClatchie, S. , Middleton, J. F. , and Ward, T. M. (2006). Water mass analysis and alongshore variation in upwelling intensity in the eastern Great Australian Bight. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, 1–9.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Neira F. J., Miskiewicz A. G., and Trnski T. (1998). ‘Larvae of Temperate Australian Fishes. Laboratory Guide for Larval Fish Identification.’ (University of Western Australia Press: Claremont, WA.)

Ohizumi, H. , Kuramochi, T. , Amano, M. , and Miyazaki, N. (2000). Prey switching of Dall’s porpoise Phocoenoides dalli with population decline of Japanese pilchard Sardinops melanostictus around Hokkaido, Japan. Marine Ecology Progress Series 200, 265–275.
Staunton Smith J., and Ward T. M. (2000). ‘Stock Assessment of Pelagic Bait Fishes in Southern Queensland with Special Reference to Pilchards.’ Final Report to FRDC, Project No. 95/043 and 98/130. (Department of Primary Industries and FRDC: Brisbane.)

Schwartzlose, R. A. , Alheit, J. , Bakun, A. , Baumgartner, T. , and Cloete, R. , et al. (1999). Worldwide large scale fluctuations of sardine and anchovy populations. South African Journal of Marine Science 21, 289–347.
Thomas R. M. (1985). The growth rate of the south west African pilchard. Investigational Report No. 128. In ‘Workshop on Southern African Sardine: Proceedings and Recommendations. Benguela Ecology Program Report No. 29’. (Eds M. Barange and C. van der Lingen.) pp. 50–52. (South African Division of Sea Fisheries: Cape Town.)

Thomas, R. M. (1986). Growth of larval pelagic fish in the south-east Atlantic from daily otolith rings in 1982/83 and 1983/84. South African Journal of Marine Science 4, 61–77.
Ward T. M., Rogers P. J., Stephenson P., Schmarr D. K., Strong N., and McLeay L. J. (2005). ‘Implementation of an Age-Structured Stock Assessment Model for Sardine (Sardinops sagax) in South Australia.’ Final Report to FRDC. Report 2000/125. (Fisheries Research and Development Corporation: Adelaide.)

Ward, T. M. , McLeay, L. J. , Dimmlich, W. F. , Rogers, P. J. , McClatchie, S. , Matthews, R. , Kampf, J. , and Van Ruth, P. D. (2006). Pelagic ecology of a northern boundary current system: effects of upwelling on the production and distribution of sardine (Sardinops sagax), anchovy (Engraulis australis) and southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) in the Great Australian Bight. Fisheries Oceanography 15, 191–207.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Welsford D. C., and Lyle J. M. (2003). ‘Redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus): A Synopsis of Fishery and Biological Data.’ TAFI Technical Report Series. No. 20. (Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute: Tarroona, Tas.)

Williams T., and Bedford B. C. (1974). The use of otoliths for age determination. In ‘Proceedings on an International Symposium on the Ageing of Fish’. (Ed. T. B. Bagenal.) pp. 114–123. (Unwin Brothers Limited: Chessington, UK.)

Wolf, P. (1992). Recovery of the Pacific Sardine and the Californian Sardine Fishery. CalCOFI Reporst 33, 76–86.


Worthington, D. G. , Doherty, P. J. , and Fowler, A. J. (1995). Variation in the relationship between otolith weight and age: implications for the estimation of age of two tropical damselfish (Pomocentrus moluccensis and P. wardi). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 52, 233–242.


Xiao, Y. (1996). How does somatic growth rate affect otolith size in fishes? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53, 1675–1682.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |