CCAMLR

Bottom trawl sample data from two research cruises were used to identify potential VMEs in the South Shetland Islands area.  High biomass densities of VME indicator taxa, meeting the 10 kg/1200 m² threshold previously set (Lockhart & Jones, 2009), were detected for 5 stations around Elephant Island.  However, this threshold is severely biased towards ‘heavy’ taxa (namely sponges and ascidians) such that communities of many ‘light’ VME taxa have little to no chance of meeting this criterion and are thus not adequately protected unless direct photographic evidence is available.  To this end a new ‘diversity threshold’ is proposed in order to protect those VME taxa that do not occur in the types of communities where sponges and other heavy taxa occur.  A clear example can be made of CITES Appendix II listed Antipatharia (black coral), which in the authors’ experience has never occurred at a high biomass-density station and even large colonies of which weigh relatively little.  After applying the new diversity threshold, a total of 10 VME areas are proposed, half of which encompass multiple stations.

So far this season (2011/12), nine vessels from Chile, China, Japan, Korea and Norway have fished for krill in Area 48; one vessel is using the continuous fishing system. The total catch reported to May 2012 was 78468 t, mostly taken from Subarea 48.1 in December, April and May. Seven vessels were fishing, at the time of preparing this report, and 935 t of krill has been reported so far for June. The forecast total catch of krill for this season ranges approximately from 108000 to 151000 t.

In 2010/11, 13 vessels fished for krill in Area 48 and the total catch of krill was 180986 t; two vessels used the continuous fishing system. The largest catch of krill was taken off the South Orkney Islands in Subarea 48.2 where a total of 111472 t of krill was taken from SSMU SOW (South Orkney West; this was the highest catch reported from that SSMU since 1990/91. The other main area fished during the season was South Georgia where 53112 t was taken from SSMU SGE (South Georgia East). The remainder of the catch was taken predominantly at the Antarctic Peninsula in Subarea 48.1, including 7970 t from SSMU APDPE (Antarctic Peninsula Drake Passage East).

Eight Members submitted notifications for a total 19 vessels for krill fisheries in Subareas 48.1, 48.2, 48.3 and 48.4 in 2012/13 and there was no notification for exploratory fisheries for krill. The total notified, expected level of krill catches is 672 700 tonnes.

The United States and Italy submitted a proposal for a new Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA), accompanied by a Management Plan, to CEP XV, 11-15 June 2012. The plan is entitled Cape Washington and Silverfish Bay, Northern Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea.

We examined the within- and between- year fluctuations of four Adélie penguin population parameters which are thought to be sensitive to changes in prey availability: breeding success, foraging trip duration, meal mass and fledgling weights. Some years had either good breeding success with heavy fledglings or poor breeding success with light fledglings while others had a lack of concordance between breeding success and fledgling weight. These discordant years also had an inconsistency between the duration of early and late stage foraging trips. For example, low breeding success was recorded in a season with long foraging trips during the guard period, relatively short trips during the crèche period and heavy fledglings. These results may indicate changes in the relative level of resource availability between the guard and crèche stages of the breeding season (i.e. was relatively low during the guard stage and elevated during the crèche stage). The overall temporal variability across years in response parameters was much greater than was observed in the two years with concurrent krill abundance. If the temporal variability in predator response parameters at this site is largely driven by changes in prey availability then these results would add further weight to significant changes in predator response only occurring with changes in krill availability at low levels (ie the Hollings type II shape curve). Our results highlight the importance of taking into account the changing behaviours of birds in the context of life history requirements, changes in prey accessibility as well as any temporal variability in the amount of prey present when interpreting predator response parameters.

The General Framework for the Establishment of CCAMLR Marine Protected Areas in Conservation Measure 91-04 provides the necessary guidance to the Commission for formulating a conservation measure for a CCAMLR Marine Protected Area and indicates a number of elements where advice may be given by the Scientific Committee.  We propose that a method is needed for consolidating and maintaining that advice in a readily accessible document, which can then form the basis for review, refinement and management of the MPAs. This document will also need a name that is easily referred to in the common language of the Commission.  We propose that an MPA Report be developed, following the designation of an MPA, to serve this purpose in the same way that Fishery Reports have been developed by the Scientific Committee to service the work of the Commission in reviewing and revising conservation measures governing fisheries in the Convention Area.  The justification is outlined in the paper.  We propose that the structure for an MPA report be consistent with the style of a Fishery Report, and include the following sections: (1) description of the region, (2) objectives to be achieved in the MPA(s), (3) historical activities, (4) assessments of the MPA and the effects of activities, (5) limits, and (6) research and monitoring plan. Such a report will mean that the Scientific Committee will not need to wait until a mandated review period arises before it assembles the relevant materials.  As a result, the process of maintaining the MPA Report will help define the role of the Scientific Committee in providing timely advice to the Commission on MPAs.

A proposal for a SCOR “Working Group to identify Ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables for measuring change in the biological properties of marine ecosystems” was developed by members of the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) Science Steering Committee in conjuction with discussions amongst members of the Science Steering Committee of the IMBER program, Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics (ICED) as part of the development of the ICED Southern Ocean Sentinel.  The aim of the Working Group is to develop a set of essential variables for monitoring that would contribute to assessments of whole-of-ecosystem status and change.  The intention of the SCOR Working Group is to provide a mechanism for linking a number of groups working on this issue, leading to a symposium in 2016.  The proposal is detailed in this paper.  It is recommended that the Scientific Committee of CCAMLR become involved in this work, particularly through the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management and the experts involved in the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program.  The outcomes of this working group will be important for CCAMLR in measuring the status and trends of Southern Ocean ecosystems, particularly in support of the development of management procedures for fisheries and in the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Conservation Measure 91-04 establishes the requirement for research and monitoring plans to support marine protected areas (MPAs).  Although CM 91-04 provides general guidance that such research and monitoring plans shall, to the extent necessary and inter alia, specify “(a) scientific research pursuant to the specific objectives of the MPA; (b) other research consistent with the specific objectives of the MPA; and/or (c) monitoring of the degree to which the specific objectives of the MPA are being met,” we are unclear about what a research and monitoring plan should actually contain and how it should be structured.  Here we present a draft plan to support an MPA in the Ross Sea Region (RSR) and seek comments from the WG-EMM both on the contents and structure of our draft.  Indeed, this draft largely represents a mechanism for generating discussion that we hope will be useful to all Members developing such plans.  Although our draft is developed from the perspective of supporting an MPA like that presented in SC-CAMLR-XXX/9 (the U.S. scenario presented last year), we acknowledge that other Members have alternative views about the boundaries and objectives presented in SC-CAMLR-XXX/9.  We expect that establishment of an MPA in the RSR will require agreement on alternative boundaries and objectives, and, ultimately, the “final” research and monitoring plan will need to support this agreement.  We further acknowledge that other Members are also considering how to develop research and monitoring plans, and, much as the boundaries and objectives of any MPA will ultimately reflect shared views, we hope that elements of what we present here can, where appropriate, be merged with elements developed by others to provide an improved plan that both usefully supports an MPA in the RSR and indicates a way forward for plans to support other MPAs in the Convention Area.

Fishing for krill Euphasia superba Dana has been conducting using midwater trawls of different constructions including beam-trawl for several last decades.

Not all krill in harvesting zone of midwater trawl got to catch during trawling. Depending on stock structure, size and physiological state of krill individuals some part of them could pass through cover of net bag and escape of catch. In contact with threads of the net bag some of them may receive possibly lethal mechanical damage.

Proposed method is applicable for rating of krill traumatic damage, received by it during trawling from cover of net bag, only for fishing with hauling of full net for catch extraction. The analogous rating for fishing with fishpump needs developing of special methods of source material obtaining to set experiments. But, taking into account the fact that trawl constructions used for these variants of fishing process are analogous or insignificantly different from the first, obtained results could be interpolated for them too.

Picking of krill individuals, passed through meshes of net bag cover of fishing gear was carried out with specially made net bags – catchers (traps), set onto the cover of net bag of a studies trawl. While hauling, caught in these special bags krill is took out and then put into a special baths with sea water for conducting of aquarium studies to determine its survival.

We present a feedback strategy, founded on CEMP data, to adjust the catch limit and the spatial distribution of fishing activity for Antarctic krill in Statistical Area 48. The CEMP currently provides decades-long baseline time series and useful contrasts across areas and species that are both relevant to making inference about the potential for competition between krill-dependent predators and the fishery and are sensitive to changes in the marine ecosystem (e.g. series that indicate predator abundance and condition). A feedback management approach can use ‘hockey-stick’ models that define decision rules for adjustments to the fishery and can be parameterized from empirical observations collected at CEMP sites (e.g. relationships between animal condition and subsequent survival). If a feedback strategy for the krill fishery includes comparison of predator performance in no-fishing areas, these decision rules can help the Commission respond to changes that are attributable to the impacts of fishing alone. If fishing occurs everywhere, these decision rules can facilitate responses to cumulative changes in the ecosystem.