Pacific cod Otolith and FT-NIRs data from the Eastern Baring Sea shelf, from 2010, 2016, 2017

For this research, data for the Strategic Initiative on rapid age assessment of fish was collected by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), Age and Growth Lab. These data came from Pacific cod otoliths specimens out of the Eastern Bering, collected by AFSC surveys in 2010, 2016 and 2017. The data consists of fish ages estimated by microscopic analysis of growth rings in each otolith, Near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRs) data, and alternate fish ages estimated by the modeling of the aforementioned two data types. The reason for the collection of this data was to evaluate the efficacy of utilizing NIRs as a tool for rapid estimation of fish ages from otoliths, in terms of precision, repeatability and speed. The collection of this data was a collaborative effort within the Age and Growth lab, with analysts estimating ages from pacific cod otoliths as for each survey year during each following season. NIRs data was collected using Bruker spectrophotometers on site at the Age and Growth lab between 2017 and 2019. This data was modeled, analyzed and prepared for publication the follow year of 2020.