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Introduction
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The
Arctic Char, Salvelinus alpinus, in Ireland Ageing Otoliths are often used as a fish ageing tool in fisheries management. The otoliths of arctic char can be used to age specimens though they are at best cryptic and to use them successfully requires a high degree of experience and skill. Most Irish fish are aged in the 4-6 year old group, but as char live to 10 years in Lake Windermere, Britain, it is thought that Irish char may be as long-lived. The photograph shows the scale and otolith used to age a 3+ char from Lough Conn. The annuli on both are indicated.
 Copyright
2003. ICCG ©2003 |
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Char
are quite slow growing and can be difficult to age due in part to
the reabsorbtion of scale material at spawning time. It is
thought that char are quite a long lived fish, living for as long
as twenty years. In Ireland char have been aged at 9 years, though
this is the exception rather than the rule. As the char stop growing
after their fifth or sixth year it becomes difficult to age the
fish as annuli are not laid down on the scales.
