CCAMLR

We provide an update on progress in the FRDC and industry-funded project “Demersal interactions with marine benthos in the Australian EEZ of the Southern Ocean: an assessment of the vulnerability of benthic habitats to impact by demersal gears”. This project commenced in 2006 and is due to conclude with the publication of a final report in late 2011. Outputs of this project, including novel technologies and unique datasets for quantifying the dynamics and extent of the interactions between demersal fishing gears and deep sea habitats in the Southern Ocean, will assist with providing key components for the development of robust impact risk assessments and adaptive management strategies necessary to ensure CCAMLR will achieve its goal of avoiding significant adverse impacts to benthic assemblages.

Conservation Measure 22-07 (2008) requires vessels fishing in the Ross Sea (and most areas south of 60°S) to collect and monitor longline bycatch for VME taxa, and implement a move-on rule if required. To ensure effective monitoring, an evaluation of VME taxa classification by Scientific Observers from four vessels in the Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish longline fishery during the 2009-10 season was conducted. Scientific Observers classified invertebrate bycatch using a revised and expanded VME taxa classification guide, and retained 1109 samples from 1272 longline segments for subsequent classification by parataxonomists and/or taxonomists, from which 4555 specimens were identified. Improvements made to the classification guide, along with specific training, benefitted the accuracy of data collection. Comparison of the observer’s classification versus the taxonomist’s classification showed that for most groups, the observer classifications were reasonably precise (88% accuracy). Some problems in distinguishing demosponges and hexactinellid sponges, sponges from ascidians, and stylasterid hydrocorals from gorgonian corals remains. Scientific Observers rarely classified non-VME taxa as VME taxa (23 of 1008 samples). In the Echinodermata group, brittle stars (a non-VME taxon) were sometimes recorded as snake stars (a VME taxon). Briefings prior to sailing and additional training materials can address most remaining issues.

China entered into the krill fishery in the Convention area for the first time in the 2009/10 fishing season. For proper implementation of the CCAMLR Conservation Measures, China carried out an observer training program under the auspices of the Bureau of Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture. The activities and contents of the training program are outlined. Outcomes from the observation works during the fishery show that the program is quite effective.

IFOP, as non profit marine research institute has the mission to provide to the Under Secretariat of Fisheries in Chile, the technical information and scientific basis for the regulation of Chilean Fisheries. For this purpose it has 157 Scientific Observers distributed throughout the Chilean coast. This paper describes the scope of the SOP in Chile, its organization, quantity of personnel involved, electronic data collection system used by Scientific Observers, and the qualifications of scientific observers.

This document introduces a training video that has been developed to assist both with the training of CCAMLR observers and for use by observers as a reference tool while at sea. The video covers many of the practical sections identified by CCAMLR as essential elements to be included in the observer training course. Currently the video is in English and only covers toothfish observing on autoliners and the aim to be to build on this with contributions from other Members.

This document introduces a proposal to include the identification and reporting of oiled birds under the training for the CCAMLR Scheme of International Scientific Observation and gives some suggestions as to what should be included in the training.

These drafts of new French plates are using a range of pictures to provide a gradient of images for each gonad stage instead of just one typical view. This would aim to obtain more accurate data on stages as observers would be able to better compare the gonads in the factory with those on the poster.

These drafts of new French plates are using a range of pictures to provide a gradient of images for each gonad stage instead of just one typical view. This would aim to obtain more accurate data on stages as observers would be able to better compare the gonads in the factory with those on the poster.

Species composition and abundance of myctophid fish were analyzed using the fish bycatch samples collected by scientific observers onboard Japanese commercial krill fishing vessels in the area north and northwest of South Georgia, Antarctica during the austral winter from 2002 to 2008. A total of 9 myctophid species were identified in the by-catch samples, among which Krefftichthys anderssoni, Gymnoscopelus nicholsi and Protomyctophum choriodon were abundant. Different life stages of K. anderssoni and G. nicholsi from larvae to adults were found, suggesting that these species may have their nursery ground around South Georgia. Electrona antarctica was not a major component of the recent mesopelagic ichthyofauna in this area, though this species used to dominate in the Antarctic coastal waters. In contrast, P. choriodon, which is known as a temperate species, became to dominate the recent samples. Additionally, the size distribution of P. choriodon was unimodal, indicating that individuals in the samples belonged to the same size group and probably migrated from the population in northern warmer areas.