Abstract Populations of sharks are declining globally, largely due to fishing pressure. There is a lack of fisheries-independent data on the demographics of many species, particularly those inhabiting deeper waters. The common sawshark (Pristiophorus cirratus) is a benthic-associated shark endemic to southeastern Australia that has been fished for over 90 years. Despite regular landings, little is known about their lifespan. To assess the age of P. cirratus, we first assessed their vertebral morphology to determine the best method for band pair elucidation. Based on morphology, vertebrae located in the post-branchial region were identified as the largest and least variable for band pair analysis. A total of eight different age-determination methods were then applied to shark vertebrae from this region to test the viability of traditional and nontraditional techniques in elucidating band pairs. Band pairs were indeterminable across all treatments. This research calls for further work into age validation and development of novel techniques to accurately age sawsharks.

中文翻译：

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与年龄作斗争：普通锯鲨（Pristiophorus cirratus）无法使用一系列传统方法确定年龄

摘要 全球鲨鱼的数量正在下降，这主要是由于捕捞压力。许多物种的人口统计数据缺乏与渔业无关的数据，特别是那些栖息在更深水域的物种。普通锯鲨（Pristiophorus cirratus）是澳大利亚东南部特有的一种底栖相关鲨鱼，已被捕捞超过 90 年。尽管定期着陆，但对它们的寿命知之甚少。为了评估 P. cirratus 的年龄，我们首先评估了它们的椎体形态，以确定带对阐明的最佳方法。基于形态学，位于分支后区域的椎骨被确定为带对分析的最大和最小变量。然后将总共八种不同的年龄测定方法应用于该地区的鲨鱼椎骨，以测试传统和非传统技术在阐明带对方面的可行性。所有处理中的条带对都无法确定。这项研究要求进一步开展年龄验证和开发新技术以准确年龄锯齿鲨。