AGE-DETERMINATION OF ORANGE ROUGHY, HOPLOSTETHUS-ATLANTICUS (PISCES, TRACHICHTHYIDAE) USING PB-210-RA-226 DISEQUILIBRIA

Natural levels of Pb-210:Ra-226 in otoliths of orange roughy, Hoplostethus atlanticus, from south-east Australian waters, were measured to determine fish ages radiometrically. Up to maturity, radiometric age estimates were consistent with a single constant otolith growth rate. Radiometric ages for juveniles were comparable with, but greater than, those obtained in a recent, validated New Zealand study which employed counts of annuli on the surface of otoliths. Beyond maturity, radiometric ages were obtained by modelling with an otolith growth rate set at 45 % of the juvenile rate. Radiometric ageing confirms that orange roughy is very slow-growing, with an age at maturity (32 cm standard length, SL) of approximately 32 yr, and is very long-lived, with fish 38 to 40 cm being 77 to 149 yr old. These results have important implications for the management of the fishery.