DNA-based aging in an exploited Arctic fish: exploring age-associated epigenetic variation in Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

Funding period: 2022-2025
Lead: Tony Kess
Total GRDI funding: $348,078

Understanding the age structure of harvested populations is critical to successful fisheries management, allowing prediction of population dynamics in the future. Arctic Charr is an emerging freshwater fishery, providing food security and economic value in Canada's Arctic communities. With potential future increases in harvest of Arctic Charr populations in Canada's north, a non-lethal, efficient, and cheap aging methodology is needed. Recent advances in DNA sequencing and computation now enable highly-accurate age estimation by measuring DNA chemical modifications that occur during an individual's lifetime. This study characterizes changes in genome-wide patterns of methylation with age in Arctic Charr from Labrador and the Canadian Arctic to develop a genomic tool for accurate age determination in Arctic Charr populations. This project will support current stock assessment of Arctic Charr throughout Canadian waters, provide higher precision in predicting future population dynamics and harvest response, and develop advanced molecular tools for use in fisheries assessment.