CCAMLR

The Secretariat has proposed a work plan and budget for the development of a VME registry to manage, store, process and summarise data notified under CMs 22-06 and 22-07 (SC-CAMLR-XXVIII, paragraph 4.251(xvi)). This registry would include a secure database for holding notification details and related data, for generating web-based lists of VMEs notified under CM 22-06 and VME risk areas and fine-scale rectangles notified under CM 22-07, and for holding documents outlining CCAMLR’s management advice and information related to VMEs and risk areas and a selection of maps of VMEs, risk areas, and associated features. In this proposal, summary information on VMEs and VME risk areas and fine-scale rectangles, including locations and taxonomic composition, is intended to be posted on the public section of the CCAMLR website. The registry will be based on the database structure and routines established for the interim VME registry, for which much of the database work has been completed. The development of the web-based lists, document archive and basic maps will be completed by early 2011. Further work would be required in subsequent years to maintain the registry and implement transition to future software and system requirements. The Secretariat is investigating options for the development of its mapping capacity to support enhanced mapping functionality, including multi-layer maps. Options and their budget implications will be forwarded to the Scientific Commission and Commission for consideration in 2011. WG-FSA and the Scientific Committee are invited to consider the development of the VME registry, and review and approve the work plan and budget, as appropriate.

The paper presents an estimate of IUU catches of toothfish during the 2009/10 fishing season, using the standard, compliance derived methodology. The paper was revised on 4 October 2010 to take into account new information submitted in respect of two vessels fishing in Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.4a. Changes from version 1 are highlighted in bold.

This paper summarises the data collected by National and International Scientific Observers operating in the Convention Area on board longline, trawl and pot fishing vessels during the 2009/10 season.

Summary (road-map) of fishery-related information for WG-FSA including availability of data, catches in assessed and exploratory fisheries, notifications (fisheries, research and VMEs) and estimates of IUU fishing. Where applicable, WG-FSA’s draft 2010 fishery reports have been updated with this information.

During three summer surveys at Prince Edward Island (PEI), southern Indian Ocean (2001, 2004 and 2008), 416 southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina were inspected for identification tags. In all, 42 seals that had been tagged as weaned pups at their natal site were found on Marion Island (MI), 38 of which could be individually identified by resighting their tag numbers. The majority of the MI-tagged seals were yearlings or subadults, and all but one were hauled out at PEI for the annual moult. The attendance rate of the known individuals at their natal island during the annual moult was only 40%, based on their resighting histories. This was significantly lower than the 77 ± 6% moult attendance rate estimated for a random MI population sample drawn from the same cohorts (based on 10 000 replications). Annual resight probabilities (considering all haulout phases) was 58% per annum for the MI seals seen at PEI, and 80 ± 4% for the simulation. Seasonal and annual absences of seals from MI violate the ‘homogeneity of capture’ assumption of mark–recapture models. When multiple sightings during any year are treated as a single sighting, resights during other haulouts (e.g. breeding) compensate only partially for absences during the moult. Therefore, mark–recapture studies undertaken in archipelagos should ideally include both marking and resighting of individuals on all islands which will allow discrimination between mortality and local migration. (Afr. J. Mar. Sci., 31 (3) (2009): 457–462)

The onshore distributions and the abundances of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella and Subantarctic fur seals A. tropicalis were determined at Prince Edward Island during 16–20 December 2008. This repeats a survey conducted in December 2001 and extends the area surveyed to include the entire south-west coast of Prince Edward Island. Of the two colonies of Antarctic fur seals, the colony among Subantarctic fur seals north of Boggel Beach remained small, with increased numbers of Subantarctic fur seals and putative hybrids. The other Antarctic fur seal breeding colony at Penguin Beach remained free of Subantarctic fur seals and had expanded at a mean intrinsic rate of natural increase of 11.4% per year from 2001. With an estimated 810 pups, the Antarctic fur seal is still in the rapid recolonisation phase of population growth. The distribution of the more widespread and abundant Subantarctic fur seals also had increased, with several new breeding colonies along the east coast and one at Kent Crater on the west coast. The annual pup production was conservatively estimated at 14 130 pups. The mean intrinsic rate of natural increase has declined to –0.3% per year over the last seven years, compared to the 9.3% per year between 1987/1988 and 2001/2002, and the population is in the mature phase of population growth. (Afr. J. Mar. Sci., 31 (3) (2009): 451–455)

We applied a multivariate statistical modelling technique called boosted regression trees to derive relationships between environmental conditions and the distribution of the adult stage of the cyclopoid copepod Oithona similis in the Southern Ocean. Nearly 20 000 samples from the Southern Ocean Continuous Plankton Recorder survey (87% from East Antarctica) were used to model the probability of detection (presence) and relative abundance of adults of this zooplankton species in surface waters. We demonstrate that it is possible to obtain reasonable models for both the presence (area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve of 0.77) and relative abundance (28–35% variance explained) of adult O. similis between November and March in much of the Southern Ocean. No investigation was possible where the environmental characteristics were not well represented by the SO-CPR dataset, namely, the Argentine shelf, Weddell Sea, and the frontal region north of the Amundsen Sea, or under sea-ice. Our analyses support the hypothesis that adult O. similis abundance is related to environmental conditions in a broadly similar way throughout the Southern Ocean. Compared to a compilation of nethaul data from the literature, the abundance model explained 34% of the variance in surface concentrations of adult stages of this species, and 23–59% of the variance in depth-integrated abundance of copepodite and adult stages combined. The models show higher occurrence and elevated abundances in a broad circumpolar band between the Antarctic Polar Front and the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (approximately 54–641S). Evidence of diel vertical migration by adults of this species north of 651S was found, with surface abundances 20% higher at night than during the day. There was no evidence of diel migration south of 651S. Five potential ‘‘hotspots’’ of adult O. similis were identified: in the southern Scotia Sea, two areas off east Antarctica, in the frontal zone north of the Amundsen Sea, and a small area in the outer Bellingshausen Sea. We recommend that a database of all available net-haul data on Oithona similis in the Southern Ocean be created to facilitate further investigations on the circumpolar distribution of this species. (Deep-Sea Res. I, 57 (2010): 469–485)