Guidelines and Tools for Age Reading Comparisons
A. T. G. W. Eltink, Allison Newton, Cindy Morgado, M.T.G. Santamaría, J. Modin · Figshare · 2000
In 1997 the European Commission funded a four year concerted action called the European Fish Ageing Network (EFAN). The stated objectives of EFAN were: ‘to develop, conduct and co-ordinate collaborative research and training, and thereby ensure that age determination becomes a reliable element of the assessments underlying the scientific management advice on fisheries and environmental resources.’ Since its inception the network has grown until now there are approximately 50 institutes involved in exchanges of ideas, information and samples. As the network evolved it became apparent that a certain degree of standardisation was required if exchanges of age determination material were to be made efficiently. In addition it was discovered that many individual institutes had techniques and/or protocols which deserved a wider audience than currently experienced. This document is an attempt to formalise and advertise the best features currently available in Europe; the authors have drawn heavily on their own experiences but readers are advised that this is an evolving field and new techniques are constantly being developed. The guidelines concentrate on: a) Reference collections and the analysis of the age determinations b) Running exchange schemes and the analysis of the age determinations c) Organising workshops and the analysis of the age determinations d) Digital imaging tools e) Definition of terms