CCAMLR

This paper presents, for consideration by the Commission, the projected outcome of the budget for 2003, a draft of the 2004 budget and an indicative forecast for 2005, presented in a format determined by the Commission at its 2002 Meeting. The 2003 budget is currently expected to be met, with a recommendation that an unbudgeted surplus of A$8 010 from 2002 be used to increment the Contingency Fund. A new budget Item has been created by the removal of the Information Services function from Communications. There is no overall effect on the budget resulting from this. The proposed real increase in budgeted expenditure in 2004 has been limited to A$27 300 (0.9%) despite the effects of, among other factors, the implementation of the results of the General Services Staff pay review, as well as new work in the form of establishment of a web-based education package and the provision of language support to some contributors to CCAMLR Science. The creation of a hard-copy version of the education package would result in a further real increase in 2005. A number of possible projects expected to be proposed to this year’s Commission Meeting have been identified as having potential cost implications but, due to lack of information, cannot be included in either the 2004 draft budget or the 2005 forecast.

The current method used by the Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment (WG-FSA) for assessing the long-term yield for toothfish fisheries in CCAMLR uses estimates of density of juvenile toothfish derived from research trawl surveys as an estimate of absolute abundance of recruitment to the fishery. At the 2003 meeting of WG-FSA a number of inconsistencies were identified in the estimation of the recruitment series for Subarea 48.3. In light of this, the Scientific Committee agreed that there was an urgent need to review and revise the recruitment series for D.eleginoides in Subarea 48.3, recognizing the importance of obtaining a consistent and reliable recruitment series for review at the 2004 meeting . This paper elaborates the issues surrounding how age information should be incorporated into CMIX analyses; which age groups should be included in the estimation of recruitment, and the need for a clear set of decision rules to guide those attempting CMIX analysis. It provides an overview of the theoretical issues involved with estimating cohort densities from length density data from trawl surveys with examples for the survey series for Subarea 48.3. A checklist of issues to be considered when undertaking CMIX analyses to estimate recruitment of toothfish is provided.