Can trophy Florida Bass be spared from age samples?

Objective We evaluated the sensitivity of estimating annual mortality and predicted length at age with the age-estimation error that is associated with Florida Bass Micropterus salmoides dorsal spines using legacy Florida Bass age samples from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s freshwater fisheries long-term monitoring program. Methods We included 44 age samples from 20 Florida Bass populations and subjected the traditional age sample data with empirical age-estimation error from dorsal spines using four scenarios: (1) all fish were aged using dorsal spines, (2) individuals ≥40 cm total length (TL) were aged using dorsal spines, (3) individuals ≥56 cm TL were aged using dorsal spines, and (4) no age-estimation error was applied, and individuals ≥56 cm TL were excluded from the age sample. Results If a nonlethal age estimation method is desired, Florida Bass ≥56 cm TL can be aged using dorsal spines and the remainder of the population with otoliths to produce small error comparable to that when completely excluding individuals ≥56 cm TL from Florida Bass age samples. Conclusions Our results suggest that releasing the biggest Florida Bass in a population with or without collecting age structures would not affect population estimates of growth and mortality.