CCAMLR

During April 2011, a multi-national group of scientists with expertise on Antarctic krill Euphausia superba and environmental sciences attended a workshop aiming to evaluate new knowledge on the impact of climate change and increasing fisheries on Antarctic krill and Antarctic ecosystems, and possible repercussions for resource management. The workshop was organised by the Institute of Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES) in the Netherlands, and funded by the European Commission and the Dutch government. The scientific evaluation focused on major agents of climate change, such as ocean warming, sea ice loss, and ocean acidification. It was concluded that the cumulative impact of climate change on krill is probably negative. To be able to account for climate change-induced ramifications on Antarctic krill and ecosystems, the adaptive capacity of the fisheries management of CCAMLR must be enhanced. To achieve this, critical knowledge gaps in the biology and ecology of Antarctic krill need to be closed. Research needs to be intensified on recruitment processes in Antarctic krill, under-ice and benthic habitat use, their capacity to adapt to environmental change, their ecosystem function, as well as the energy demand and food consumption of krill-dependent predators. With respect to CCAMLR’s ecosystem-based management approach, 10 recommendations were agreed on during the workshop. In particular, it was concluded that current precautionary management measures need to be maintained, until sufficient knowledge exists about the population levels of sustainability. It was further agreed that increasing the efficiency of CEMP is fundamental for a solid science-based management of the fishery.

In 2006, CCAMLR adopted Conservation Measure 32-18 on the conservation of sharks. The measure prohibits the “directed fishing on shark species in the Convention Area…” and calls for the live release of incidentally-caught sharks where possible. The measure is, however, silent on the practice of shark finning should incidental catches of sharks occur. The U.S. delegation proposes to amend CCAMLR Conservation Measure 32-18 to require that all sharks incidentally-caught in the Convention area be landed with their fins naturally attached, if they are not released alive. This is consistent with United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions adopted by consensus in 2003 and 2004, and again from 2006 through 2010.

The delegations of the United States and New Zealand propose to amend CCAMLR Conservation Measure 10-02 (Licensing and inspection obligations of Contracting Parties with regard to their flag vessels operating in the Convention Area) to require an investigation in the event of a very serious marine casualty¹ involving a fishing vessel². Such investigation will result in the preparation of a report to be shared with the Commission. The proposal is consistent with Article 94(7) of the Convention on the Law of the Sea with respect to fishing vessels operating under CCAMLR’s jurisdiction in the Southern Ocean.
¹ For the purposes of this conservation measure, the term “very serious marine casualty” would mean accidents or events caused by or involving a vessel that result in total loss of the ship, loss of life, severe damage to the marine environment, serious injury to its own or another State’s nationals, or serious damage to its own or another State’s ships or installations.
² For the purposes of this conservation measure, “fishing vessel” would mean any vessel of any size used for, equipped to be used for, or intended for use for the purposes of fishing or fishing-related activities, including support vessels.

The exploratory longline fishery for Dissostichus spp. has now been operating for 14 years in Subarea 88.1 and for nine years in Subarea 88.2. The research and assessment work in these areas on the distribution, abundance and demography of Antarctic toothfish (D. mawsoni) has led to an estimate of the fisheries potential yield. However, one source of ongoing uncertainty in the stock assessment concerns recruitment dynamics.
Pre-recruit Antarctic toothfish fish are caught in various locations during fishing operations. However, different vessels catch different length classes in different locations in different years, making it impossible to develop a consistent time series that would monitor trends in recruitment over time from the fishery. At its 2010 meeting, the Scientific Committee agreed that a time series of recruitments from a well designed longline survey could be a useful input into a stock assessment model and requested members develop a pre-recruit survey design (SC-CAMLR-XXIX, para. 3.185). This paper presents a proposal for a CCAMLR sponsored research survey in response to the Scientific Committee request.
We propose that the first survey be a pilot, with two main objectives:

(i) To establish the feasibility of developing a time series of longline surveys to monitor pre-recruit (<100 cm TL) toothfish in the south of SSRUs 881.J and 881.L in the southern Ross Sea using standardised gear in a standardised manner; and
(ii) To carry out experimental depth stratified fishing in 400–600 m depth adjacent to the survey boundaries to establish the most appropriate depth strata for future surveys.