CCAMLR

Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, have a circumpolar distribution but are concentrated within the south-west Atlantic sector, where they support a unique food web and a commercial fishery. Within this sector, our first goal was to produce quantitative distribution maps of all six ontogenetic life stages of krill (eggs, nauplii plus metanauplii, calyptopes, furcilia, juveniles, and adults), based on a compilation of all available post 1970s data. Using these maps, we then examined firstly whether “hotspots” of egg production and early stage nursery occurred, and secondly whether the available habitat was partitioned between the successive life stages during the austral summer and autumn, when krill densities can be high. To address these questions, we compiled larval krill density records and extracted data spanning 41 years (1976-2016) from the existing KRILLBASE-abundance and KRILLBASE-length-frequency databases. Although adult males and females of spawning age were widely distributed, the distribution of eggs, nauplii and metanauplii indicates that spawning is most intense over the shelf and shelf slope. This contrasts with the distributions of calyptope and furcilia larvae, which were concentrated further offshore, mainly in the Southern Scotia Sea. Juveniles, however, were strongly concentrated over shelves along the Scotia Arc. Simple environmental analyses based on water depth and mean water temperature suggest that krill associate with different habitats over the course of their life cycle. From the early to late part of the austral season, juvenile distribution moves from ocean to shelf, opposite in direction to that for adults. Such habitat partitioning may reduce intraspecific competition for food, which has been suggested to occur when densities are 39 exceptionally high during years of strong recruitment. It also prevents any potential cannibalism by adults on younger stages. Understanding the location of krill spawning and juvenile development in relation to potentially overlapping fishing activities is needed to protect the health of the south-west Atlantic sector ecosystem.

ICED is an international multidisciplinary programme undertaking integrated circumpolar analyses to improve understanding of Southern Ocean change, the implications for ecosystems and for management. Through ongoing engagement between ICED, CCAMLR scientists and the CCAMLR Secretariat, there is increasing mutual understanding of the key areas of ICED science and associated activities that are also of interest to CCAMLR. The 2018 ICED Projections Workshop, undertaken in collaboration with CCAMLR, provided an initial, mainly qualitative, assessment of the potential impacts of climate change on krill, their predators and the fishery in Area 48, and considered the implications for including climate change in decision making for conservation and management. This paper highlights recent ICED research and activities on Southern Ocean ecosystems and change, focusing on areas of interest to CCAMLR and joint ICED-CCAMLR activities, and suggests ways to continue to strengthen the links between ICED and CCAMLR. We encourage CCAMLR involvement in relevant ICED activities to jointly identify, prioritise and address key scientific issue with respect to the management of Southern Ocean ecosystems in the face of change.

A proposal for a new Antarctic Specially Protected Area, Rosenthal Islands, Anvers Island, Palmer Archipelago, has been submitted by the United States for consideration at the 2019 Meeting of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting - Committee for Environmental Protection (ATCM XLII - CEP XXII, 1 – 11 July). In order to fulfill the requirements of ATCM Decision 9 (2005), the management plan is submitted for consideration by WG-EMM.

This document presents a prototype of Fishery Report built using R Markdown. Documents produced in R Markdown may be exported into pdf format (this paper) as well as html pages (available on the SAM meeting server). The 2018 Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment welcomed the Secretariat’s intent to transform the way Fishery Reports will be published, into standardised and automated webpages (WG-FSA-18 paragraph 2.30). 

The methodology of modern trawl surveys carried out the ICES responsibility area is discussed in the context of discussion at the Scientific Committee and the CCAMLR Commission in 2018 regarding the longline survey methodology in Division 58.4.1. It is shown that the methodology of modern bottom trawl surveys requires a standardized design of the spatial location of trawl samples and standard fishing gear as a data collection tool.    Moreover, the use of standard fishing gear should be accompanied by standard procedures for trawl adjusting and monitoring of its parameters. These procedures are mandatory for all ships participating in the survey.

At the same time, methodological aspects of the multi-year international research program implemented in Subdivision 58.4.1., such as the lack of standardized design of longline settings, the use of  various  types and constructions of gears  and fishing efforts  by years and research blocks  do not allow obtaining scientific-based  data for understanding the abundance, population structure and productivity indices, toothfish distributions and dependent species in accordance with the  goals and objectives of the research program in Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2.

The solution of the current methodological problems of toothfish  research in Division 58.4.1 by only  improving statistical data processing  is  unacceptable. For Division 58.4.1 and 58.4.2.  we propose a  toothfish  researches  to be carried out by the vessels   based on standardization of sampling longline gear and survey design

Scientific observation activities during Dissostichus spp. fishing for research purposes in the statistical subarea 48.1 on board of the fishing vessel “Calipso” (Fig. 1) (the shipowner LLC “Fishing Company “NEPTUNO”, Ukraine) were carried out in accordance with the research plan WG-FSA-18/20 Rev.1.

WG-FSA 2018 noted that changes in productivity parameters may impact assessment estimates and consequent management advice, and that these changes may be related to long-term environmental change. The Working Group recommended that key assessment parameters be reviewed and that changes in the fishery dynamics that would impact their estimation be explored.

The biological productivity parameters in subarea 48.3 are analysed here, particularly whether the proportion of females in the catch, maturity at length, length-weight relationships and growth rates have changed over time and how the fishery dynamics impact parameter estimates. Variation in parameter estimates is noted but no systematic trends in growth or maturity through time, after the effects of confounding factors were included in the analysis.

Russian research of craboids (Anomura, Decapoda) in the Antarctic Pacific (Subareas 88.2 and 88.3) were carried out by the  vessel “Antarctic Wolf” in March 2019 in full compliance with the Russian program (WGSAM-18/06; WGFSA-18/32 Rev.1) and recommendations of the Scientific Committee (SC-CAMLR –XXXVII, paragraph 4.3 (i-viii)). Pot catches was presented by craboid Paralomis birstaini and Antarctic King crab Neolithodes yaldwini. Detailed analysis of obtained data is shown.