CCAMLR

The species composition and bathymetric distribution of the fish fauna of Terra Nova bay (Ross Sea) was investigated during the 6th Antarctic Italian Expedition (austral summer 1990/91).
Samples were collected using fixed gears (nets, hooks and traps) and working along four transects from the coast to off-shore, down to 680 m.
The bulk of catches were Nototheniidae (10 species, 83 % by weight), followed by Channichthyidae (four species, 16 % by weight), Bathydraconidae (three species), Artedidraconidae (two species) and Liparididae (one species).
A shift in species composition and abundance with depth suggests the presence of different assemblages of fish at different levels sampled.
A detailed statistical analysis of catches in relation to various variables (depth, fishing gears, station, etc.) is also carried out.

The diet composition and feeding intensity of mackerel ice fish (Champsocephalus gunnari) around South Georgia in January/February 1991 was analyzed in 3877 stomachs collected on 44 stations. Both, the proportion of krill (Euphausia superba) in the stomachs and the feeding intensity were uncommonly low in a period when energy-rich food is needed for the final maturation of the gonads.

An adaptive approach was used to assess the Champsocephalus. gunnari stock in Area 48.3. Values of catch/effort by age group and by year of fishing were used in conjunction with abundance indices from trawl surveys in tuning the VPA.
The C. gunnari stock at the start of the 1990/91 season is estimated at 184 thousand tonnes.
Calculation of TAC was carded out keeping in mind the change to the fishing regime brought about by a change in mesh size (90 mm).
A TAC of 59.4 thousand tonnes for C. gunnari is advised for an optimal regime of fishing operations at a level of F0.1 = 0.65.