Exploratory fishing for Dissostichus spp. in the Antarctic region (Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 88.3)
During February and March 1998, a 43-day cruise on FV Tierra del Fuego was conducted as part of the New Fisheries Projects developed by Chile, primarily to establish the presence of Dissostichus spp. in Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 88.3. Industrial longlines (Spanish system) were used for the operation, with variable quantities of fish hooks (1 440 to 4 320), No. 9 Mustad Kirby type, set between depths of 600 and 2 550 m. Sardines (Sardinops sagax) and squid (Illex argentinus) were used as bait. Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) were recorded around Peter I Island (Latitude 68°49'S), and from the Bellingshausen Sea (70°38'S) to Clarence and Elephant Islands (61°14'S), while Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) were caught in waters from King George Island in the South Pacific Ocean (61°24'S) to the Scotia Sea in the South Atlantic (58°03'S). Yields of Dissostichus spp. were very low in the three subareas, with values of only 5.7 g/hook (Subarea 88.3), 19.1 g/hook (Subarea 48.1) and 3.0 g/hook (Subarea 48.2), and an average over all areas of 11.1 g/ hook.