Estimated production figures for 1 January through 30 September 2006.
Species
Specimens Aged
Flathead sole
1,888
Alaska plaice
339
Dover sole
838
Northern rock sole
921
Yellowfin sole
1,181
Walleye pollock
8,648
Pacific cod
3,812
Sablefish
2,389
Atka mackerel
1,467
Pacific ocean perch
1,824
Northern rockfish
817
Rougheye rockfish
3,638
Dusky rockfish
476
Dark rockfish
50
Great Sculpin
400
Total production figures were 28,688 with 6,979 test ages and 298 examined and determined to be unageable.
Program Activities
The Age and Growth Program had two visitors during the quarter. Sonia Fang, a Pomona College sophomore intern, visited during July, to study fish ageing with Delsa Anderl. Sonia also aged Atka mackerel, but the focus of her study was California grunion, Leuresthes tenuis. Results from this study have been documented in a student poster entitled "How old are spawning grunion (Leuresthes tenuis)?" (.pdf, 70KB).
Our second visitor was Sergio Vitale, an Italian government scientist, who spent 26 June through 27 July with the Age and Growth Laboratory studying the ageing of Hoplostethus mediterraneus and Diplodus vulgaris using otoliths. It was agreed these species may be older than previously aged in the scientific literature and that further collaboration should
proceed to attempt age validation using radiometric methods.
