Age and Growth Lab

The Age and Growth Lab is responsible for the processing and aging of fish otoliths for the purpose of stock assessment. Find out why and how we age fish.

Introduction to Ageing Fish: What Are Otoliths?
Otoliths help FWRI biologists to determine age and derive age-related information as well as growth rates of various fishes.

The Otolith Sectioning Process
In 2020, the Age and Growth Lab processed 25,055 and aged 34,012 otoliths. Read this article to find out how FWRI processes and uses otoliths for research.

Saltwater Fish Otolith Photo Gallery
Researchers use otoliths, commonly known as earstones, to estimate the age of a fish. Learn more about this process and view otoliths from nearly 90 species of fish.