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What's An Otolith?

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Otoliths ("earstones") are small, white ivory, bone-like structures found in the head of all fish other than sharks, rays and lampreys. Each fish produces two Otoliths. Floating in individual fluid-filled sacks, they are located on either side of the head and function in maintaining the fish's balance in much the same way that the inner ear does for humans.

Otoliths are often called the "Rosetta Stones" or "CD-ROMs" of fish biology and deservedly so. Otolith growth rings (annuli), not unlike those of a tree, record the age and size of a fish from hatch date to the time of death.

Annuli formed in the first year of life and visible only through a microscope, record daily age and growth patterns in surprising detail. Scientists are now able to obtain a wealth of information on age, growth, environment, and population characteristics of many species of fish. Sophisticated chemical techniques allow the reconstruction of everything from the year of hatch, to migration pathways, even to the water temperature at a particular point in the fish's life. Indeed, virtually the entire lifetime of the fish is recorded in the Otolith. For that reason, Otoliths are used and studied in almost every fishery laboratory in the world as one of the most important tools for understanding the life of fish and fish populations.

Each Otolith pair, described as "fish fingerprints", are unlike any other pair produced by any other fish. Our hand-crafted jewelry is made with Otoliths selected only from genuine Alaskan Halibut and Cod. Each piece of our Otolith jewelry makes a truly unique, irreplaceable gift that will be treasured for years to come.

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