Wells et al: Age validation of |uvemle Isurus oxynnchus tagged off southern California 
155 
Counts after the OTC mark 
<1) 
■o 
<u 
cr 
0 2 4 6 
Reader 2 
8 10 
03 
T3 
03 
CD 
cc 
0 2 4 6 
Reader 3 
10 
C\J 
<5 
T3 
03 
03 
CC 
Reader 3 
Counts after the birth mark 
03 
"O 
03 
03 
CC 
14- 
12 - 
io- 
8" 
6 - 
4- 
2 - 
0' 
0 
14" 
12 - 
10- 
03 
T3 
03 
03 
(X 
14 ‘ 
12 ‘ 
cv io- 
Q3 
T) 
03 8 
03 
QC 
6 - 
4 - 
2 - 
• • 
• • 
• • 
10 
12 14 
Reader 2 
4 6 8 
Reader 3 
10 
12 
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 
Reader 3 
Figure 4 
Age-bias plots for all OTC-marked juvenile Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus ) independently aged by 3 readers during this 
study. Graphs in the left column represent total band-pair counts distal to the OTC mark, and graphs in the right column 
represent total band-pair counts distal to the birth band. 
in this region, to determine if vertebral readings or as- 
sumptions about growth-band deposition differed. Total 
band-pair counts relative to fish size in this study were 
very similar to the average band-pair counts, relative 
to fish size, obtained by Cailliet et al. (1983) (Fig. 6). 
This finding indicates that vertebral readings were 
similar between the 2 studies and only the assumption 
about deposition rates differed. 
Given differences in the rates of band-pair deposi- 
tion of Shortfin Mako in other studies, our findings 
