Use of Pectoral Spines and Vertebrae for Determining Age and Rate of Growth of the Channel Catfish

In the management of any species of fish, accurate information on age and growth is needed along with other life history information. When this study of age and rate of growth of the channel catfish, Ictalurus lacustris punctatus, was initiated in 1950, there was no record in the literature which described a technique for determining the age of that species. Recently, however, techniques which involve use of different parts of the skeleton have been successful. Appelget and Smith (1951) and Barnickol and Starrett (1951) used vertebrae to determine age and growth of channel catfish in the Mississippi River. Sneed (1951) used the pectoral spine in a study of the growth of channel catfish in Grand Lake, Oklahoma. Pectoral and dorsal spines were employed in a statewide investigation of the growth rate of channel catfish in Oklahoma by Hall and Jenkins (1952), and the dorsal spine was recommended as the better indicator of the two. Jenkins, Leonard, and Hall (1952) used the dorsal spine to determine the age and rate of