Abstract

The morphological features of fish scales are one of a series of off-centered circuli and annuli, analogs to the growth rings of a tree. The spacing and the number of circuli on a scale can be used to study the growth rate of the fish for a given season. The number of annuli present leads to a determination of the fish age. In addition, different groups of fish may possess unique characteristic features in their morphological structure. We have made optical Fourier transforms for two groups of haddock fish scales. Within each group the scales varied in age from two years old to about ten years old. The Fourier transforms were digitized and stored on the hard disk of a microcomputer. We present preliminary results on the comparison of the Fourier transform study of the age and group differences observed for haddock scales.

© 1986 Optical Society of America