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 > MF09280
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(10)

Accepting final counts from repeat readings of otoliths: should a common criterion apply to the age estimation of fish?

Ross J. Marriott A F , Bruce D. Mapstone B , Aaron C. Ballagh C , Leanne M. Currey C , Ann Penny C , Ashley J. Williams C D , Gary Jackson A , Dongchun Lou E , Amos J. Mapleston C , Nicholas D. C. Jarvis A , Ian S. Keay A and Stephen J. Newman A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Fisheries, Government of Western Australia, PO Box 20, North Beach, WA 6920, Australia.

B CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.

C Fishing and Fisheries Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Science,James Cook University, Qld 4811, Australia.

D Oceanic Fisheries Program, Secretariat of the Pacific Community BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia.

E School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: Ross.Marriott@fish.wa.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(10) 1171-1184 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09280
Submitted: 3 November 2009  Accepted: 17 May 2010   Published: 14 October 2010

Abstract

Multiple readings of otoliths are often carried out to assess the repeatability and reliability of increment counts for estimating fish age. Various criteria have been used to assign or discard age estimates from repeated counts when discrepancies occur although the reasons for doing so are usually not stated or justified. Trends in relative frequencies (percentage disagreement, PD) and magnitudes (inter-read discrepancy, IRD) of otolith-count discrepancies were explored for 15 species of fish collected from a range of locations around Australia to explore generality in the best explanatory model(s) for otolith-count discrepancies and, hence, the most appropriate criterion for accepting or rejecting age estimates from multiple-count data. Increasing discrepancies with increasing age, according to a constant per-increment probability of error, was the best-approximating model for 9 of the 15 species for PD data but for only two species for IRD data. Our results indicated disproportionately higher rates of rejection of estimates from older age groups if exact agreement between repeated counts was required for age acceptance. Results varied with the reader, region and the method of otolith reading, indicating that multiple criteria for accepting or rejecting counts from multiple readings may be required among or even within species.

Additional keywords: ageing precision, quality control.


Acknowledgements

We thank Andrea Molinari, Bob Mosse, Cameron Murchie, Campbell Davies, Garry Russ, Jake Kritzer and Jeffrey Norriss for sampling, preparing and reading otoliths to produce count data for several of the species studied. We also thank the ELF field team, Department of Fisheries (Government of Western Australia) research staff, and commercial and recreational fishers for assistance with sample collections in the eight study regions. Thanks also go to Samantha Bridgwood, Brett Molony, Kimberley A. Smith, Peter Marriott and one anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on earlier drafts. We acknowledge financial support from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation for collection of data for S. semifasicatus (FRDC Project 2005/010), G. hebraicum and P. auratus (FRDC Project 2003/052), and from the Cooperative Research Centre for the Ecologically Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef and from James Cook University. Sampling work was conducted under the following permits: GBRMPA permits G96/454, G01/603, G03/8896.1, QFMA Permit No 42294 and extensions, Queensland Fisheries Service permits PRM03517C, PRM02628J, JCU Ethics approval nos. A771_02, A566. This manuscript is a joint contribution from the CRC Reef Effects of Line Fishing Project and from the Department of Fisheries (Government of Western Australia).


References

Barlow, J. (1984). Mortality estimation: biased results from unbiased ages. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41, 1843–1847.
Burnham K. P., and Anderson D. R. (1998). ‘Model Selection and Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach.’ (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Cameron D., and Begg G. (2002). Fisheries biology and interaction in the northern Australian small mackerel fishery. Department of Primary Industries, Final report to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Projects 92/144 and 92/144.02, Brisbane.

Campana, S. E. (2001). Accuracy, precision and quality control in age determination, including a review of the use and abuse of age validation methods. Journal of Fish Biology 59, 197–242.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Choat J. H., and Robertson D. R. (2002). Age based studies. In ‘Coral Reef Fishes’. (Ed. P. F. Sale.) pp. 57–80. (Academic Press: Amsterdam.)

Choat J. H., Kritzer J. P., and Ackerman J. L. (2009). Ageing coral reef fishes: do we need to validate the periodicity of increment formation for every species of fish for which we collect age-based demographic data? In ‘Tropical Fish Otoliths: Information for Assessment, Management and Ecology, Reviews: Methods and Technologies in Fish Biology and Fisheries 11’. (Eds B. S. Green, B. D. Mapstone, G. Carlos and G. A. Begg.) pp. 23–54. (Springer: New York.)

Eklund, J. , Parmanne, R. , and Aneer, G. (2000). Between-reader variation in herring otolith ages and effects on estimated population parameters. Fisheries Research 46, 147–154.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Fowler A. J. (1995). Annulus formation in coral reef fish – a review. In ‘Recent Developments in Fish Otolith Research’. (Eds D. H. Secor, J. M. Dean and S. E. Campana.) pp. 45–64. (University of South Carolina Press: Columbia, SC.)

Fowler, A. J. , and Doherty, P. J. (1992). Validation of annual growth increments in the otoliths of two species of damselfish from the southern Great Barrier Reef. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 43, 1057–1068.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Haddon M. (2001). ‘Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries.’ (Chapman and Hall/CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL.)

Hesp, S. A. , Potter, I. C. , and Hall, N. G. (2002). Age and size composition, growth rate, reproductive biology, and habitats of the West Australian dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and their relevance to the management of this species. Fishery Bulletin 100, 214–227.
Jackson G. (2007). Fisheries biology and management of pink snapper, Pagrus auratus, in the inner gulfs of Shark Bay, Western Australia. Ph.D. Thesis, Murdoch University, Perth.

Kimura, D. K. , and Anderl, D. M. (2005). Quality control of age data at the Alaska Fisheries Science Centre. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 783–789.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Lenanton R., StJohn J., Keay I., Wakefield C., Jackson G., et al. (Eds) (2009). Spatial scales of exploitation among populations of demersal scalefish: implications for management. Part 2: stock structure and biology of two indicator species, West Australian dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), in the West Coast Bioregion. Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Fisheries Research Report No. 174, Perth.

Mapstone B. D., Davies C. R., Little L. R., Punt A. E., Smith A. D. M., et al. (2004). The effects of line fishing on the Great Barrier Reef and evaluations of alternative potential management strategies. CRC Reef Research Centre, CRC Reef Technical Report No. 52, Townsville, Qld.

Marriott, R. J. , and Cappo, M. (2000). Comparative precision and bias of five different ageing methods for the large tropical snapper Lutjanus johnii. Asian Fisheries Science 13, 149–160.
Mosse J. (2002). Population biology of Cephalopholis cyanostigma (Serranidae) of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Ph.D. Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld.

Newman, S. J. , and Dunk, I. J. (2003). Age validation, growth, mortality, and additional population parameters of the goldband snapper (Pristipomoides multidens) off the Kimberley coast of northwestern Australia. Fishery Bulletin 101, 116–128.
Powers J. E. (1983). Some statistical characteristics of ageing data and their ramifications in population analysis of oceanic pelagic fishes. In ‘Proceedings of the International Workshop on Age Determination of Oceanic Pelagic Fishes: Tunas, Billfishes, and Sharks. Miami, Florida, 15–18 February 1982’. (Eds E. D. Prince and L. M. Pulos.) pp. 19–24. (NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service: Washington, DC.)

R Development Core Team (2009). R version 2.9.2 (2009-08-24). The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. Available from http://www.r-project.org

Rien, T. A. , and Beamesderfer, R. C. (1994). Accuracy and precision of white sturgeon age estimates from pectoral fin rays. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 123, 255–265.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Secor D. H., Dean J. M., and Campana S. E. (Eds) (1995). ‘Recent Developments in Fish Otolith Research.’ (University of South Carolina Press: Columbia, SC.)

Smith, K. A. , and Deguara, K. (2003). Formation and annual periodicity of opaque zones in sagittal otoliths of Mugil cephalus (Pisces: Mugilidae). Marine and Freshwater Research 54, 57–67.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Welch D. J., Buckworth R. C., Ovenden J. R., Newman S. J., Broderick D., et al. (2009). Determination of management units for grey mackerel fisheries in northern Australia. Final Report, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Project 2005/010, Fishing and Fisheries Research Centre, James Cook University, Fishing and Fisheries Research Centre Technical Report No. 4, Townsville, Qld.

Williams, A. J. , Davies, C. R. , and Mapstone, B. D. (2005). Validation in the periodicity and timing of increment formation in red throat emperor (Lethrinus miniatus) otoliths. Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 529–538.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Winer B. J., Brown D. R., and Michels K. M. (1992). ‘Statistical Principles in Experimental Design.’ 3rd edn. (McGraw-Hill: Kogakusha, Tokyo.)