A validated description of age and growth of western Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Current stock assessments of western Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thymus) use age-structured population analyses, but the age assignment in the population model is made using all age-length relationship derived from mark and recapture studies largely completed during the 1970s. In our study, the deposition of bomb radiocarbon was used as a dated mark to validate age inferences of bluefin tuna and to compare the validated ages with those predicted from the age-length relationship. The results support the view that the age-length relationship currently in use for the assessment overestimates growth rate and the ultimate size of the fish. These findings have implications for the estimation of stock productivity and may negatively impact the rebuilding schedules established by fisheries managers.