| Summary: | Data on age and growth of fishes is critical for effective management; however, growth rates documented in one location may not be representative of other locations, especially for species that occur across wide geographic ranges. <i>Sebastes maliger</i>, quillback rockfish, occur across a broad latitudinal range, but their growth patterns have been quantified only in the southern part of their range. To provide information for <i>S. maliger</i> in the more northern part of its range, we report age and growth patterns derived from otolith analysis from a population collected in southeast Alaskan waters. In southeast Alaska mean annual growth increments for years 1 and 2 range from 60–80 mm, and for ages 6–9 annual growth increments average about 20 mm. From age 10 on average the annual growth increment is about 5 mm. These data can be used in conjunction with harvest data to manage stocks of <i>S. maliger</i> in Alaskan waters.
|
|---|