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Age and growth of Argyrozona argyrozona (Pisces: Sparidae) in a marine protected area: an evaluation of methods based on whole otoliths, sectioned otoliths and mark-recapture
Brouwer, S.L.; Griffiths, M.H. (2004). Age and growth of Argyrozona argyrozona (Pisces: Sparidae) in a marine protected area: an evaluation of methods based on whole otoliths, sectioned otoliths and mark-recapture. Fish. Res. 67(1): 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2003.08.007
In: Fisheries Research. Elsevier: Amsterdam. ISSN 0165-7836; e-ISSN 1872-6763, more
Peer reviewed article  

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Keywords
    Age determination > Otolith reading
    Marine/Coastal

Authors  Top 
  • Brouwer, S.L.
  • Griffiths, M.H.

Abstract
    Argyrozona argyrozona is an important component of the South African commercial linefishery. The purpose of thisstudy was to develop a reliable protocol for estimating age and calculating growth. Methods based on both otoliths andmark-recapture data were investigated. Transverse sagittal sections from the Tsitsikamma National Park (TNP) showed clearopaque and translucent growth increments. Marginal growth zone analysis and mark-recapture of chemically tagged fish(Oxytetracycline) revealed that these were deposited on an annual basis: opaque in summer and translucent in winter. The firsttranslucent check was shown by daily increment counts to mark the completion of the first annulus (i.e. not a juvenile/falsecheck). Within reader (between counts) and between readers average percentage error (APE) was 5.3 and 1.8, respectively,showing that readability of carpenter otoliths is high. Comparison between whole and sectioned otoliths showed that theformer significantly underestimated the age of fish older than 10 years (P < 0.01). The maximum age obtained from wholeotolithswas 16 years while that obtained from otolith sectionswas 27 years. Based on realistic L8 estimate and the distributionof residuals, the three parameter von Bertalanffy growth function adequately fitted the observed length-at-age data derivedfrom otolith sections. Growth rates did not differ significantly between sexes (f = 2.217, P = 0.09). Growth of carpenter inthe TNP is described by the following equation:Lt = 623(1 - e-0.08(t-1.96))A large proportion (68%) of the individual growth rates derived from mark-recapture data were below those predicted bythe otolith based von Bertalanffy growth model (P < 0.01). This was attributed to the negative influence of external tagsas hydroids, frequently occurring on the tags of recaptured fish, were observed to cause severe lesions and in some cases,extensive fin damage. This brings into question the use of mark-recapture studies to calculate growth of some species.

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