Standards for assessment of age and growth data for channel catfish

Standards for the assessment of age and growth data for channel catfish (Ic talurus punctatus) were developed using published data. A representative se t 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 95(th)) were computed from the distribution of estimated mean total le ngths for fish three to ten yeats old. This approach for development of sta ndards to assess data from age and growth studies of fish is proposed for c onsideration in development of standards for other species in addition to c hannel catfish.