Mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) is targeted by licensed fisheries in the Southern Ocean using midwater trawls at South Georgia in Subarea 48.3, and using both bottom and midwater trawls at Heard and McDonald Islands in Division 58.5.2. These established fisheries are reviewed annually by CCAMLR’s Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment (WG-FSA) and the Scientific Committee. See annual Fishery Reports. The Commission’s agreed limits for the current fishing season are defined in the Conservation measures.
This species was heavily exploited in the 1970s and 1980s. Concern over the levels of exploitation in these fisheries, and the high annual variability in catches, led to the closure of the fisheries in the early 1990s. Nowadays, fisheries on mackerel icefish may only occur within two years of a survey, if sufficient stock is assessed to be available.