Thin sectioning is used to supplement the break and burn method in the age determination of rockfish species and other difficult to age species. The AFSC thin section method is a modified version of a similar thin section technique developed in Australia. The modified thin section was used to develop the ageing criteria for shortraker rockfish and Pacific cod and is currently the primary method used to age shortraker rockfish. Below is a brief description of the procedure along with accompanying photographs.
