Development and Validation of Epigenetic Aging Models for Northwest Atlantic Fish Species

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), seeks to develop and validate epigenetic aging models for Northwest Atlantic fish species. Traditional aging methods are ineffective for key species like goosefish, impacting stock health assessments and sustainable catch limits. The contract's objective is to create an epigenetic aging model using DNA methylation rates in a regional fish species (haddock), validate it with two other species (Atlantic cod and black sea bass), and apply it to a difficult-to-age species (goosefish). The contractor will provide personnel, equipment, materials, and bioinformatics infrastructure for DNA extraction, methylation sequencing, and computational model development. Deliverables include a project plan, sequencing data, a draft report with algorithms, and a final report with validated models and a presentation. Optional tasks involve additional experiments with species like windowpane and sharks. The primary place of performance is the contractor’s facilities, with virtual meetings.