ABSTRACT
Estimation of age and growth of organisms is essential in understanding the variations in growth rate and life span and also provides information on other related biological parameters such as reproductive characteristics. In fishes, data on age and growth can be applied for effective fisheries management and conservation. Age and growth are usually estimated by three methods: counting the number of increments on calcareous structures; analyzing length–frequency data; and growth estimation by mark-and-recapture. Age characters are the calcareous structures used for age determination schlerochronology. Calcareous structures such as otoliths, vertebrae, scales, spines, and bones are useful as age characters in fishes. For age determination, the number of increments on the age characters should be assessed. After sample preparation, opaque and translucent zones are alternately determined for the age character under transmitted light; opaque zones are usually considered as increments.
