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Fishery Bulletin 111(2) 
vitellogenesis (not shown; i.e., the most advanced oo- 
cyte stage was only partially yolked, where the yolk 
inclusions did not extend from the nucleus to the cho- 
rion). These 3 fish were young, age 5 or 6, and, if they 
had been capable of spawning imminently, they evi- 
dently would have started spawning later than other 
conspecifics. In comparison, 92% of mature females 
were already actively spawning, with oocytes that 
either exhibited migrating nuclei or were in various 
stages of hydration; postovulatory follicles were ob- 
served as well (Fig. 5H). 
Age determination 
Tilefish otoliths are difficult to age, but good results 
were obtained after training the primary age reader 
with the reference collection. There was 62% percent 
agreement with the reference collection (85% and 89% 
agreement within 1 or 2 years, respectively), with a 
Chang’s CV of 5.1. There was a tendency to underage 
fish approximately 15 years old and older; however, 
Bowker’s test indicated this departure was not signifi- 
cant (% 2 = 19.5; P=0.42). 
Ages of Tilefish collected in 2008 ranged from 3 
to 25 years for females and 3 to 23 years for males. 
Nearly all fish (98%; n = 180) were <15 years old (Fig. 
6). Precision, based on re-reading the 2008 otoliths, 
was good. Percent agreement between the first 2 read- 
ings was 79.6% (97% and 98% within 1 or 2 years, re- 
spectively), with Chang’s CV of 2.2. Again, the Bowk- 
er’s test of symmetry was not significant (% 2 =17.4; 
P=0. 18). 
