Age and Growth Verification for Cunner in Western Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, Using Tag–Recapture Data

Abstract

Information obtained from tag–recapture data can provide estimates of growth that are similar to those obtained from age–length data. A total of 5,760 cunners Tautogolabrus adspersus were tagged and released during 1992–1996; 385 fish that had been at large for at least one winter were recaptured. Otoliths were collected from 688 other fish for age determination. Growth parameter estimates (K and L _∞) were very similar between the von Bertalanffy model (which used age–length data) and Fabens' method (which used tag–recapture data). The recapture lengths and times at large for individual tagged fish calculated from both models were similar to the observed recapture lengths and times at large. An age distribution derived for recaptured fish using an age–length key was similar to one estimated from tagging ages plus known times at large. Otolith rings appear to be an appropriate indicator of age for cunners.