Standards for assessment of age and growth data for channel catfish

Standards for the assessment of age and growth data for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were developed using published data. A representative set of 102 studies of individual populations from across the geographic range of channel catfish was selected. Percentile values (5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, and 95th) were computed from the distribution of estimated mean total lengths for fish three to ten years old. This approach for development of standards to assess data from age and growth studies of fish is proposed for consideration in development of standards for other species in addition to channel catfish.