A method of aging the elephant fishCallorhinchus miliiBory de St Vincent 1823, is described. Alternating light and dark layers, seen in cross‐sections of the dorsal spine, are assumed to be laid down annually as in other fish. Ages obtained from spine sections are identical with ages obtained from interpretation of modal peaks in the length‐frequency graphs. Males mature at 3 y old, at approximately 50 cm fork length; females at 4.5 y old and 70 cm. The significance of this in relation to the New Zealand fishery for elephant fish is discussed.