Workshop for for horse mackerel age determination new criteria’s approval
October 28th, 2022
At Valparaíso’s Fisheries Development Institute , from October 18th to 21rst, “Workshop for new criteria homologation for jack mackerel age determination” was held with the participation of Msc Lilián Cisterna and Evelin Sanhueza from Fishing Research Institute, (INPESCA) and researchers from age and growth section of Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP), Camilo Rodríguez, Lizandro Muñoz and Francisco Cerna, supported by the expert Dr. Miguel Araya from the Arturo Prat University.
Francisco Cerna, head of the age and growth section explained “This workshop is one of the last activities of the FIPA 2021-21 Project “Update of information associated with age and growth of horse mackerel, in the context of the RFMO-PS”, whose objective is to generate a protocol for reading jack mackerel (Trachurus murphy) otoliths from reference collections and graphic catalogues, which contribute to the standardization of the age determination process. A high precision and accuracy in the estimation of the age of exploited fish, such as horse mackerel, are decisive for an adequate evaluation of the stock and its fishing management, which ensures its sustainability over time.
We can satisfactoorily say that after a year of work in meetings and workshops, we have reached an important level of precision in determining this resource’s age, between INPESCA and IFOP, which ensures the quality of the data that Chile generates and contributes to South Pacific Regional Organization (SPRFMO) international body in charge of assessing jack mackerel stock of the South East Pacific. The final result of this work will be embodied in a protocol for determining the age of jack mackerel, which will provide the necessary background information to subsequently scale this work with the other member countries of SPRFMO”.
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