We need Grumpa's take on this one, Fish age and growth

[morecowbell23]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaL7fXZTmIw

[Grumpa]

It's true morecowbell.
Fish age can be determined by counting the number of paired summer/winter growth zones.
One pair of zones is called an annulus, many (annuli). The process is very similar to aging a tree by counting the rings.
It's been a very long time since I worked and grew up in a fishing community on Erie and nearly as long since I did a 4 year seasonal stint working for the MNR. So I can only confirm what I saw and participated in back in the late 60's and 1970's. I'm sure sampling techniques have changed considerably since then.
When we'd pull commercial seine or shoreline hoop nets (I think they call them fyke nets now) and provided fish samples for the MNR...the assigned site tech or the biologist (if he was present) would, more often then not, just collect scale samples and fin rays for biological analysis which included age determination. Eventually though they would collect 'otolith' bones (they called them ear stones), plates from the inner ear of a fish, for packaging and further analysis. You had to dig around in the fishes skull to find the otolith bones and then remove them with pliers or tweezers.
The otolith bones had rings on them as well.
The MNR biologists would tell us that the otoliths were quite accurate in determining a fishes age.
Pyzer is very knowledgeable, works with and consults with current OMNRF biologists regularly...so, if he says you can age fish using the 'opercle' (gill plate) bones....then I'm inclined to believe it's quite true and just as accurate.
Thanks for posting the vid...eductional and informative...plus provides a much less invasive way for the average sports fisherman to age a fish he's harvesting.

[morecowbell23]

Thanks Grumpa,

We can always count on you for a in depth analysis and learn from it.

[Sterling]

Been a while since I've done it but yes this is accurate. Never done it on a perch, I thought it was 4-5 years old, was way off!

[westarm]

very cool indeed!

just a side note, reading the comments, there is a very very strange voice at 6:27 ish?? check it out and see if you can hear what it says. its pretty creepy!

[HuskyMusky]

Good ear,

6:27


Yeah seems odd.....