78 
Fishery Bulletin 1 14(1) 
2001). The rapid expansion of the fishery for wreck- 
fish, along with growing concern among fishermen and 
managers about the sustainability of this fishery, re- 
sulted in the establishment of an “individual transfer- 
able quota system” for wreckfish in 1990 by the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC), and 
several subsequent management changes have been 
implemented since then. Currently the total allowable 
catch is set at 235,000 lb ww, and the fishery for wreck- 
fish was estimated to be worth $700,000 in 2012. 
Despite the widespread distribution and commer- 
cial importance of wreckfish, there have been only 2 
publications in which the age of this species has been 
documented and its associated life history traits have 
been described: one on the North Atlantic population 
(Vaughan et al., 2001) and another on the South At- 
lantic population (Peres and Haimovici, 2004). These 2 
studies differed widely in their estimate of maximum 
age for wreckfish; Vaughan et al. (2001) suggested 
a maximum age of 39 years and Peres and Haimovici 
(2004) suggested maximum ages for males and females 
of 62 and 76 years, respectively. Unfortunately, neither 
study included attempts to validate age estimates de- 
spite the suggestion in other literature that maximum 
age differences of this magnitude between populations 
of the same species are unlikely (Collins et ah, 1987; 
Begg and Sellin, 1998). A related species, hapuku ( Poly - 
prion oxygeneios), reaches ages in excess of 60 years in 
the South Pacific (Francis et al., 1999). Another obser- 
vation that indicates potential underaging of wreckfish 
is the lack of decoupling of size at age in the von Ber- 
talanffy growth model (VBGM) presented by Vaughan 
et al. (2001); this decoupling is often characteristic of 
long-lived fish species (Coulson et al., 2009; Friess and 
Sedberry, 2011). 
Using bomb radiocarbon analysis, we validated age 
estimates for wreckfish caught in the North Atlantic, in 
particular for fish captured in the area of the Charles- 
ton Bump. We presumed that wreckfish attain a much 
higher maximum age than has been reported previous- 
ly for the North Atlantic population. We then recalcu- 
lated various life history parameters, including length 
at age, growth, and natural mortality on the basis of 
the validated age estimates. 
Materials and methods 
Collection of samples 
Personnel from the National Marine Fisheries Service 
and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources 
collected otoliths from commercially landed wreckfish 
from 1991 through 2011 at ports in South Carolina, 
Florida, and North Carolina. Data recorded for most 
fish included fork length (FL, in millimeters), although, 
on some fish, measures of standard length (SL, in milli- 
meters) and total length (TL, in millimeters) also were 
taken. We developed a FL-TL meristic conversion to 
facilitate the conversion to and from different length 
measurements. Fishermen generally gutted all fish at 
sea and kept them on ice until landed, a process that 
prevented sex-specific analyses. For aging purposes, 
port samplers removed at least the left sagittal otolith, 
although removal of both sagittal otoliths occurred in 
some cases. 
Age validation 
The otoliths that were used for bomb radiocarbon 
analysis were collected in 1991 (n=323) from wreck- 
fish that had at least a measurement of TL and both 
sagittal otoliths were removed. Vaughan et al. (2001) 
did not provide detailed information about the tech- 
nique they used for processing otoliths, and we based 
our otolith processing on a slightly modified protocol 
detailed in Peres and Haimovici (2004). After an otolith 
was embedded in a marine grade epoxy, we cut a series 
of transverse sections (-0.25-0. 35 mm thick) from the 
left sagittal otolith, ensuring that at least one section 
included the otolith core. Sectioning was done with an 
IsoMet Low Speed Saw 1 (Buehler, Lake Bluff, IL) with 
a diamond-coated waffering blade. We mounted (and 
cleared) resulting sections, typically 2 sections per 
otolith, on glass slides, using Cytoseal XYL medium 
(Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA). 
Two readers independently examined otoliths for 
age determination, without knowledge of fish size, cap- 
ture date, or the results of the other reader, with an 
Eclipse 55i compound microscope (Nikon, Tokyo) under 
transmitted light at magnifications of 40-100x. Read- 
ers prioritized reading the section that contained the 
core, unless there was an obvious reason, such as dam- 
age to the otolith, not to use that section. Counts of 
increments were determined by counting all opaque 
growth increments along the medial surface of the 
transverse otolith section ventral to the sulcus. Identi- 
fication of the first growth increment was based on the 
protocol of Peres and Haimovici (2004), in which the 
first increment follows 1-3 “false” rings and exhibits a 
discontinuity, which is a thin crack-like structure run- 
ning between a translucent and opaque increment. 
After determining initial increment counts, we se- 
lected 20 specimens for analysis of bomb radiocarbon 
levels for age validation. We selected for analysis those 
specimens with a birth year between 1950 and 1980, 
as determined from increment count and year of cap- 
ture (1991), and agreement between readers. If reader 
disagreement was greater than 1 year, we excluded the 
specimen from consideration. We embedded the right 
sagittal otolith of the specimen in resin and obtained a 
single, 1-mm-thick transverse section through the core. 
The resultant section was washed with deionized water 
and dried overnight. Extraneous otolith material sur- 
rounding the core was removed with a Dremel, model 
732, rotary tool (Robert Bosch Tool Corp., Mt. Prospect, 
IL) with a carbide-cutting wheel. 
1 Mention of trade names or commercial companies is for iden- 
tification purposes only and does not imply endorsement by 
the authors or the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
