CCAMLR

During the 1990/91 and 1991/92 fishing seasons, two longliners carried out exploratory fishing over the western shelf break of the Kerguelen shelf (Division 58.5.1). Scientific monitoring of fishing carried out by one of these longliners has allowed a description of fishing methods to be made. Bottom longlines are generally used at depths of 400 to 600 m. The mainline (1 to 2 miles long) carries about 2 400 to 3 600 straight hooks, which are from 61 to 75 mm in length. The bait used is either imported fish (horse mackerel) or squid, or species (e.g.Champsocephalus gunnari) which are caught locally by trawlers. The vessel is equipped with an automatic longline baiter which has an efficiency of about 75%. The catch rate has been assessed as being about 10.9%, but this average is reduced by the fact that fish become unhooked along the side of the ship, which leads to a real catchability value in the order of 10.2%. The catch is almost exclusively made up of Dissostichus eleginiodes, by-catches being extremely small (0,28%).
Length frequency distributions (LFD) observed for Dissostichus eleginoides confirm that fish caught are large, their average length being greater than that in catches made previously by trawlers in the same area. This average length is comparable for the two successive fishing seasons (93.4 cm in 1990/91 and 92.95 cm in 1991/92). The fish caught are for the most part adults, and a clear difference can still be observed between the LFD for males (L = 88.09 cm in 1990/91 and 88.13 cm in 1991/92) and that of females (L = 98.70 cm in 1.990/91 and 98.61 cm in 1991/92). The sex ratio is almost equally balanced.

Following on from the apparent failure to satisfactorily assess the status of the C. gunnari population in Subarea 48.3 at WG-FSA-91 using VPA, attempts were made to re-work the analysis using Laurec-Shepherd and ADAPT tuning techniques, from 1991 back to 1977. The predicted age structure, dominated in recent years by the 1987 year class (1 year olds in 1988), was quite robust, despite the use of various combinations of survey and cpue indices for tuning. According to the VPA the population in 1991/92 was composed of a large proportion of 5 year olds, which was not observed during the survey on Falklands Protector in January 1992. Breakdown in the credibility of the VPA results in most recent years is attributed to the invalid assumption of constant M and contradictions in the input data. A conservative approach to management for 1992/93 is recommended, based on the results of surveys by Falklands Protector in 1990/91 and 1991/92.

The diet composition and feeding intensity of mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) around Shag Rocks and the mainland of South Georgia was investigated in January/February 1985, January/February 1991 and January 1992 by analyzing appr. 9,000 stomachs. Main prey items were krill (Euphausia superba), the hyperiid Themisto gaudichaudii, mysids and in 1985 also Thysanoessa species. The proportion of krill and Themisto in the diet items varied considerably between the three seasons, whereas the proportion of mysids in the diet remained fairly constant. krill is obviously the prefered diet. In years of krill shortage, such as in 1991, krill is replaced by Themisto gaudichaudii and sometimes Thysanoessa. Variation in food composition between sampling sites was high. This high variation can be primarily attributed to differences in prey availability, but appears to be much less influenced by differences in length composition of the fish between sampling stations. Feeding intensity varied also considerably between seasons. It was highest in 1992.

This study analyses fisheries activities carried out by the Chilean longline fishery targeting the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in CCAMLR Statistical Subarea 48.3 (South Georgia Island). From the end of December 1991 until the closing of the fishery on the 10th March 1992, the fleet caught around 80% of the TAC set for this subarea. The catch and effort data and the biological sampling carried out on board the vessels operating in the region were used for the analysis.
From the location of the hauls two separate fishing grounds could be clearly distinguished: the first one at the north of South Georgia Island, including Black and Shag rocks, and the second one at the South of the island, hauls being made at depths between 1 100 and 1 450 m. The effort applied by the Chilean fleet totalled 2.71 million hooks, 2 883 tonnes were caught at an average CPUE of 1.06 k/hook; this yield was higher to those recorded in previous seasons.
During this period the standard length of 8 340 specimens was measured at 5 cm intervals, using established sorting procedures, and also by converting the standard length to total length, where the length frequency distribution by sex was determined. The catch lengths distributions ranged between 40 and 145 cm for males and 40 and 200 cm for females. The average length was estimated at 96.7 cm for males and 108.8 cm for females. The total catch was estimated at 255 139 specimens, with a ratio of 59% males and 41% females.
The stock assessment was made by using two methodological approaches: pseudo-cohort analysis and DeLury’s method. The total catch recorded for the subarea was used, while the total effort was estimated by projecting the results of the Chilean fleet to all vessels that operated during the season. According to the biomass obtained by each method, TACs were established, using different combinations of F0.1, total length at first catch and natural mortality which were assumed to be most likely for this species. Thus, according to DeLury’s method, TACs ranged between 1 085 and 5 768 tonnes, whereas the cohort analysis gave TACs fluctuating between 7 832 and 8 210 tonnes. On the basis of these results, the proposed TAC for the 1992/93 season in Subarea 48.3 is 6 000 tonnes.

The Antarctic silver fish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) is one of the most numerous species in the outer waters of Antarctica. In the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean there are at least three relatively isolated groups. Fish aged from 0+ to 3+ years live in the epi- mesopelagic zone where there are macro aggregations of plankton, while fish aged from 3+ to 12+ years form near-bottom, pelagic schools. Fish belonging to various spatial groups have different growth characteristics, Females mature when they reach 13-16 cm in length and 4-6 years of age. Males reach maturity at 12-18 cm in length and 4-7 years of age. The potential absolute and relative fertility of this species is one of the highest for high-latitude Antarctic fish. Spawning occurs in the winter-spring period. P. antarcticum is a plankton-eater and is itself an important part of the diet of species higher up the food-chain. P. antarcticum has a fairly high level of instantaneous natural mortality, mainly due to its position on the food chain. It would probably be unwise to commence exploratory commercial fishing of this species in areas of international monitoring.