@article {2577,
	title = {Twenty-five-year longevity of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) from novel use of bomb radiocarbon dating in the Mediterranean Sea},
	journal = {Marine and Freshwater Research},
	volume = {67},
	year = {2016},
	month = {Jan-01-2016},
	pages = {1077},
	abstract = {The high variability of growth and longevity estimates for European hake (Merluccius merluccius) reflects the existence of two opposing hypotheses on growth rates that differ by a factor of 2: (1) a fast-growing hypothesis (FGH) with a maximum age near 15 years; and (2) a slow-growing hypothesis (SGH) with a maximum age near 30 years. A recently established regional radiocarbon (14C) reference led to a first-time application of bomb 14C dating in the Mediterranean Sea to three of the largest-sized and potentially oldest-catch female European hake. Because age reading of otoliths is very subjective and poorly defined, these fish were aged blind with bomb radiocarbon (14C) dating as an independent estimate of validated age. The validated ages were compared with the theoretical maximum ages from the most reliable FGH and SGH von Bertalanffy growth functions. Among the three bomb 14C ages, the most diagnostic length-at-age was an alignment with the bomb 14C rise period for two of the three fish, providing validated ages of 22 years (74.5-cm total length) and 25 years (88-cm total length). The results provide estimates of length-at-age that are in agreement with the SGH and cannot be accounted for by the FGH. },
	keywords = {Age validation, Carbon-14, growth, lifespan, Merlucciidae},
	issn = {1323-1650},
	doi = {10.1071/MF15376},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1071/MF15376},
	author = {Vitale, Sergio and Andrews, Allen H. and Rizzo, Pietro and Gancitano, Salvatore and Fiorentino, Fabio}
}
@article {2635,
	title = {Age and growth of the giant sea bass, Stereolepis gigas},
	journal = {California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations Reports},
	volume = {55},
	year = {2014},
	month = {12},
	abstract = {In January 2010, a massive giant sea bass (500 lbs, 227 kg; near maximum reported size of 557 lbs, 253 kg) was captured off Santa Cruz Island by commercial gill-netters. This specimen presented a unique opportunity to estimate and validate of the potential longevity of the largest nearshore teleost of the northeastern Pacific. A transverse section of the sagittal otolith produced consistent counts of 62 opaque annuli along two different axes of the ventral sulcus region, translating into an estimated birth year of 1948. This age estimate was supported by measurements of radiocarbon (14 C) in the other sagittal otolith core (within the first year of growth), relative to D 14 C reference records used for bomb radiocarbon dating. Two otolith core samples produced D 14 C values that were classified as pre-bomb (prior to ,1958{\textendash}59), indicating a minimum lifespan of 51 years. It is likely that giant sea bass can live more than 60 or 70 years based on growth zone counts, but there is no evidence in the literature or this study to support longevity of 100 years.},
	keywords = {Age and growth, Carbon-14, lifespan, Longevity, Otolith, Polyprionidae, Stereolepis},
	doi = {10.3160/0038-3872-111.1.1 },
	url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236999608_Bomb_radiocarbon_dating_and_estimated_longevity_of_Giant_Sea_Bass_Stereolepis_gigas},
	author = {A. Hawk, Holly and Allen, Larry}
}
