SummaryThe sagittal otolith ofMacruronus novaezelandiae(Merlucciidae; Teleostei) showed cycles of strontium, calcium, nitrogen, carbon and oxygen in proton microprobe traces along both the sulcal to anti‐sulcal growth axis, and the dorso‐ventral rowth axis of the otolith. The cycles of strontium in the dorso‐ventral growth axis had peak‐to‐peai distances similar to those of annual peaks expected from daily microincrement estimat