Quarter century lifespan for giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) 

of Hawaiian Islands 

Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) are an iconic reef fish of the Indo-Pacific that attains its greatest size in Hawaiian Islands. Despite their broad range, importance as a top predator, and attraction among anglers, the age and lifespan remain unresolved. In this study, otolith section age and bomb radiocarbon dating were used to determine valid estimates of age-at-length, which extended the findings from a previous study using daily increments. Revised growth parameters and an estimate of longevity indicate the species grows rapidly and can reach 25 years of age in the Hawaiian Islands.

Example of the well-defined growth structure in the carefully placed otolith cross section — this fish was aged to 25 years and validated with bomb radiocarbon. The extraction can be seen as removed material at the top of the section image where the removal was traced with a 7-point milling design within the first year of growth with a New Wave Research micromilling machine (Elemental Scientific Lasers, Bozeman, MT, USA; http://www.nwrlasers.com/milling/micromill/).

Publication:

Record giant trevally taken in 1980 from waters of Maui in the main Hawaiian Islands. This record has been missed in many cases in the literature.

http://www.hawaiifishingnews.com/records_d.cfm?ID=43