What could epigenetic ageing change in practice for fisheries management?
Age estimation is one of the most persistent bottlenecks in fisheries science. Traditionally, it relies on lethal sampling and expert interpretation of hard structures (otoliths, spines), which can be time-consuming, costly, and difficult to scale.
A new publication from COOOL demonstrates that fish age can now be estimated from a simple fin clip using epigenetic markers with a median error of less than one year.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11357-026-02192-0
Led by PhD student Thomas Chevrier, this work highlights how genomics and epigenetics can move beyond theory and deliver operational tools for fisheries science.
With epigenetic ageing, we are starting to see a shift toward:
• Non-lethal sampling > fin clips instead of sacrificing individuals
• Simplified sampling > no need for whole fish or heads to collect otoliths; fin clips can be collected directly at landing sites or onboard
• Scalability > large sample sizes become feasible
• Standardization > reduced reader bias compared to traditional ageing
• Access for data-limited fisheries > potential to unlock age-based assessments where none were previously possible
This opens concrete perspectives for:
• Improving stock assessment inputs (growth, mortality, recruitment)
• Supporting monitoring programs with minimal impact on populations
• Bridging gaps in data-limited contexts, especially in small-scale fisheries
• Developing new tools for aquaculture performance tracking
If you’re working on stock assessment, monitoring programs, or aquaculture systems, please get in touch to see how we can help you integrate epigenetics into your workflow.
www.company-coool.io
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Epigenetic ageing
