Lipofuscin is a metabolic by-product that accumulates in tissue of the nervous system, particularly the brain, and its occurrence has been shown to be widespread in crustaceans.  Because it accumulates in the nervous tissue over time, the concentration of lipofuscin can be related to chronological age.  A technique determining the age of crustacea using the ratio of the area of lipofuscin granules to neurons in the olfactory lobe cell mass (OLCM) in the brain of crustaceans has been developed by Dr M.R.J. Sheehy. The method was developed using a suite of crustaceans (Sheehy 1994), then transferred to Western Australian rock lobster (FRDC 93/090), and is currently being used for age determination of the European lobster (Hommarus gammarus).

The aim of this project was to transfer lipofuscin technology to the Central Ageing Facility (CAF) at the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute (MAFRI).