this is a microscopic photo of the red emperor otolith {ear bone] the 18 kilo one in my gallery [one page back]. in breif this is how you tell the age of a fish , the process is difficult , you extract the bone which there is 2 of and the position is at the top of the back bone in the head , they sit in a small hard bone sack either side of the back bone approx. near the eyes, in the middle of the skull of the fish.they are carefully removed as the are very fragile, about the size of a finger nail, once collected they are finely polished .at this stage you can count the dark bands from the centre.the bands start broad and well spaced showing a quick growth,and then they become thinner and less spaced towards the outer edge , as the fish matures they slow down in growth 1 kilo a year for the first 10 approx.and then slowing to around 350 grms. for the next how many years .this fish has 10 to 11 broad bands showing quick growth for 10 to 11 years and then the bands get realy tight a further 23 bands , much like a tree you count the rings to tell how old the fish is, this fish was around 34 years old .
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