West Coast Groundfish Observer Program Manual, Part2 - NOAA

CHAPTER 6
4. Remove the otoliths from the cavity with a pair of
forceps.
5. Carefully clean the otoliths by rubbing them between
your fingers in water, or on a wet sponge or cloth to
remove slime and tissue.
6. Dry the otoliths as much as possible and place the
pair of otoliths in a vial (only one pair of otoliths per
vial). It is important to get the otoliths clean and as
dry as possible before storing them to prevent their
rotting.
7. Record the weight, sex, length, and species of the
fish on the Biospecimen Form. Also record a
Dissection Type of “1” for otoliths and record the
bar code number from the otolith vial.
Figure 6- 9: Otolith Removal
1/30/2004 6-25