Precision of growth band determination from eyestalk sections of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) preserved in formalin

Age information for commercial fish species is crucial to fishery management. Age information for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) will be important for stock assessment modeling and future feedback management of krill fisheries. Samples stored in 70% ethanol provide an opportunity to detect the growth bands of eyestalk sections. Moreover, information derived from samples preserved in formalin will have a greater impact on the feedback management process because this preservation method was more common in previous decades. Out of 162 Antarctic krill individuals preserved in 5% formalin, the growth bands from eyestalk sections of 134 samples were readable. The relationship between the total length and the growth bands in the eyestalk was analyzed. Three main parameters, including exact percent agreement (EPA), coefficient of variation (CV), and average percentage error (APE), were used to evaluate the precision of the growth bands.Results show decreased CV and APE values and an increase in the EPA value with the accumulation of reading runs. This method is direct and uses a grinding and polishing technique before reading, contrary to Krafft et al. (2016) and Kilada et al. (2017). Combined with published studies, specimens collected from autumn to winter in this study can provide a better understanding of Antarctic krill growth. This study presents important information for age determination, particularly for specimens preserved in formalin, and will benefit the stock assessment and acoustic estimation of this species in the future. Further studies are required to validate the correlation between growth bands and age. Additionally, more samples from different seasons and regions are also needed to fully understand the growth dynamics of this species.