CCAMLR

This paper aims to bring to light specific issues which precluded support by Norway of the Weddell Sea MPA proposal tabled to CCAMLR in 2016 by the delegation of the European Union and its Member States. We present results from Marxan and other analyses conducted for the purpose of evaluating aspects of the Weddell Sea MPA planning process which were integral to the development of the proposal, focusing on the suitability of the Marxan analysis to inform MPA border delineation and the potential impact to fisheries. We pose questions and make recommendations regarding the technical and procedural decisions made during the Weddell Sea MPA planning process, and discuss these concerns in the context of the transparency of the process, the consistency with other CCAMLR MPA planning processes, and Norway’s commitment to ensuring that any area-based management it supports is founded on a consistent and rigorous scientific basis.   

Breeding birds can increase their foraging efforts to feed chicks after hatching. We investigated how chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) differ foraging diving behaviors with breeding stages. During incubation and chick-rearing period, from December 2015 to January 2016 on King George Island, Antarctica, diving characteristics of breeding chinstrap penguin parents were recorded by deploying GPS and Time-Depth Recorder (TDR). Our results showed that chinstrap penguins have wider-range diving areas and longer foraging trips during incubation period while they dive in on-shore areas for a short trip hours during chick-rearing period. In addition, chinstrap penguins exhibited deeper dive depths during chick-rearing than during incubation. Our results suggest that chinstrap parents change their foraging area and dive depth between incubation and chick-rearing, possibly due to the increased need of chick-feeding and the temporal changes in prey availability between the two reproduction stages.

To develop a long-term ecological research program at a breeding site of Adélie penguins, located in the Northern Victoria Land Coast, the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) carried out a preliminary survey on the population size and foraging trips of penguins at Cape Hallett. All sub-colonies were mapped using a portable DGPS and the data were complemented by comparing them with aerial images using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Cape Hallett colony was composed of approximately 700 sub-colonies occupied by 53,450 pairs of Adélie penguins in 2016. The foraging area of the Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adelie) determined from our loggers was 218.8 ± 366.8 km² (mean ± SD).

We provide a brief update on the progress of our project “Tracking the overwinter habitat use of krill-dependent predators from Subarea 48.1”. The project was initiated with support from the CEMP Special Fund in 2015/16. With the assistance of the Secretariat, we purchased 150 ARGOS-based satellite transmitters and successfully deployed 130 instruments during the 2016/17 breeding season at sites including King George Island, Livingston Island, Cierva Cove, and Galindez Island. Twenty tags intended for juvenile Adélie penguins were not deployed due to logistical limitations (10 tags) and failed delivery (10 tags).  Data collection continues for one juvenile penguin and 50 adult penguins as of 13 June 2017. In total, we collected usable data from 118 deployments. Data indicate high utilization of coastal zones among gentoo penguins, while chinstrap penguins and Adélie juveniles exhibited larger-scale movements into pelagic areas that span from the Ross Sea to the South Sandwich Islands. 

In 2015, the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle has started to develop a new data acquisition protocol for benthos bycatch in the French fisheries of the Southern Ocean (statistical areas 58.5.1, 58.6, 58.4.3a, 58.4.4b, 58.4.2) . This protocol aims at producing presence and abundance data of the benthic macro-invertebrates collected by the fishing gears. The main objective is to increase knowledge on the benthic ecosystems impacted by the French fishing activities, in a context marked by the CCAMLR conservation measures for Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) protection and the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) development and in the short term to decrease this impact. The protocol is based on collecting, weighing and photographic sampling of the benthic macro-invertebrate specimens. A description of the protocol is provided in this document. Preliminary results on quality and quantity of produced data are provided as well some examples of scientific exploitation. The new protocol provided significant results. CCAMLR could use part or whole of the protocol to implement in the fisheries scientific monitoring activity.

A dedicated krill survey for CCAMLR Division 58.4.1 during 2018/19 season is planned by Japan. No krill biomass has been estimated in the Division since 1996 when Australia carried out BROKE. There are two main objectives of our survey: (1) estimation of krill biomass to update B₀ in the division and (2) oceanographic observations in the area to detect long term changes if any. Japanese research vessel, Kaiyo-maru, will be used in the survey. The krill survey (echosounder and RMT) and subsequent biomass estimation will follow the CCAMLR standard protocol. The survey will be international oriented and participation of foreign scientists is welcome. An earlier version of this proposal was submitted to SG-ASAM-17 and the outcome of the discussion is reflected in this document. This document is presented to WG-EMM-17 with an intention to receive comments from the participants. Every suggestion will be duly examined and incorporated where relevant in the plan and a revised plan, especially related to acoustic survey methods, will be submitted to SG-ASAM-18 for further considerations. The final plan will be submitted to WG-EMM-18.