Distribution and abundance of Macrourus carinatus on BANZARE Bank in the southern Indian Ocean
Abstract / Description:
This paper provides an assessment of the distribution and abundance of Macrourus carinatus on BANZARE Bank in the southern Indian Ocean (Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.3) based on results from a trawl survey in 1999. This is the first quantitative assessment of M. carinatus in this region. M. carinatus was the most common species caught in each haul, comprising on average 52 ± 4% of the total biomass. The mean density of M. carinatus on BANZARE Bank was 176 ± 14 kg/km2, while the biomass was estimated to be 16 658 ± 1 325 tonnes. M. carinatus appeared to be uniformly distributed over the bank.