Publicly available bathymetry and geophysical data can be used to map geomorphic features of the Antarctic continental margin and adjoining ocean basins at scales of 1:1-5 million. The geomorphic features identified and their properties can be related to major habitat characteristics such as sea floor type (hard versus soft), ice keel scouring, sediment deposition or erosion and current regimes. Where more detailed data are available, shelf geomorphology provides a guide to the distribution of the shelf benthic communities recognised by a number of authors. For areas off the shelf, the relationships between physical environmental parameters and the benthic biota are more poorly known however geomorphic mapping provides insights into major processes that are likely to influence benthic habitats. The geomorphic mapping method presented here rapidly provides a layer to add to benthic bioregionalisation using readily available data and provides useful insights into seabed and oceanographic conditions that influence benthic communities, even in the absence direct measurements. The conclusion from this preliminary study of sea floor geomorphology from the Antarctic is that there is enough data to available already to produce a meaningful benthic bioregionalisation for an area as poorly known as the Antarctic continental margin and surrounding oceans. Studies of shelf biota that have tried to link the physical environment with benthic communities have found links strong enough to suggest that geomorphology is a useful first-pass tool for mapping the distribution of communities. The link between biology and geomorphology is the degree to which sea floor geometry influences oceanographic, biogeochemical and substrate processes to shape the conditions for benthic communities. Additional layers of bed shear stress and sediment characteristics will further refine benthic bioregionalisation when data become available however the results produced by mapping from bathymetry alone are sufficient to justify its use in the first stage of benthic bioregionalisation for CCAMLR waters

A collaborative project between Australian industry, the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has been established to investigate the interactions between demersal fishing gears targeting Dissostichus spp. with marine benthos in the Australian EEZ of the Southern Ocean. Key outcomes of this project will include: • Compact camera systems which will be able deployed by scientific observers in the Convention area to quantify habitats types where fishing occurs • Identification of types and likely extent of interactions between different demersal fishing gears (trawl, longline, trap) with benthic communities around Heard and McDonald Islands (Division 58.5.2), and longlines on the Antarctic continental shelf • An assessment of the vulnerability of benthic habitats to impact by demersal gears in the Sub-Antarctic and high latitudes of the Southern Ocean • Recommendations for practical mitigation strategies to minimise fishing impacts on benthic communities Compact cameras have already been built and trialled on trawl on longline gear, and the footage captured indicates there is great potential for such systems to capture data to quantify interactions between demersal gears and the benthos in CCAMRL fisheries.

Conservation Measure 22-06 was adopted to ensure that significant adverse impacts of bottom fishing gear on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) are avoided. In order to satisfy the requirements of CM 22-06 a method is proposed to notify CCAMLR of the presence of VMEs and their location using a simple pro-forma. Two VMEs identified during the Australian CEAMARC-CASO cruise are notified using this form from Statistical Area 58.4.1, SSRU H. The use of 5 nm buffer zones around the location of the observations is proposed to mitigate the risk of spatial uncertainty in the notified position and the deployment of bottom-fishing gear.

At CCAMLR-XXVI the Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment (WG-FSA) noted a lack of specific reference material for the identification of benthic invertebrates in areas specific to which observers carry out their activities (SC-CAMLR-XXVI: Annex 5, paragraph 6.32). To improve the standard of observer identifications and also to assist in the identification of vulnerable areas, the Scientific Committee requested that guides be prepared for the identification of benthic organisms (SC-CAMLR-XXVI: paragraph 4.190). In response to this recommendation Australia has developed the ‘Field identification guide to Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) benthic invertebrates: a guide for scientific observers aboard fishing vessels’. This Fisheries Research and Development Commission (FRDC), Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and industry funded production is the first of its kind for the region. It is intended for use as both a training tool, and at-sea by trained observers, to make accurate identifications of invertebrate by-catch when operating in the HIMI region. The Australian Antarctic Division has now published the first edition of the guide for distribution to the HIMI observer network, enabling them to gather invertebrate by-catch data at higher taxonomic resolutions. To encourage the development of similar guides for training purposes and at-sea use by observers in other CCAMLR designated fisheries, a copy of the guide will be distributed to each CCAMLR delegate and will be available electronically on the web.

Trends in the krill fishery are currently informed by data on annual catches and by the annual notification procedure. There has been considerable discussion within the Scientific Committee over the utility of these sources of information to detect trends, and of the need to obtain more information from the krill industry. This paper uses publicly available patent databases to examine both the number and type of patents related to krill that are lodged annually. This information matches well with the catch and notification information, showing similar trends. It is suggested that the patent database be taken over by the Secretariat so that they can maintain an annual register of krill related patents which will be of use for indicating future trends in the krill fishery.

Assessment and predictive models need to be developed to provide two assessments of climate change impacts for use by governments, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other international forums, including CCAMLR and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting: (i) what are the current climate change impacts on Southern Ocean ecosystems to inform governments of the consequences of climate change on populations, species and ecosystems; and (ii) what are the predicted future impacts on marine ecosystems, using select indicators of Southern Ocean ecosystems as early warning signals, to inform managers of human activities and ecosystem services that could be impacted by climate change?  The manner in which these assessments could be developed, based on field monitoring programs and the development of ecosystem models, was the focus of discussion at an International Workshop on ‘Monitoring climate change impacts: Establishing a Southern Ocean Sentinel program’, which was held at CCAMLR Headquarters in Hobart, Australia, on 20-24 April 2009.  It was hosted by the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Australian Antarctic Division, and WWF-Australia. This paper provides the Executive Summary of the report, which will be released during the final week of the CCAMLR meeting.   

This paper reports on the various activities conducted by or involving SCAR that relate directly to CCAMLR or are of potential interest to CCAMLR. This includes a report on outcomes from SCAR’s biennial business and delegates meetings, and the SCAR/IASC 2008 IPY Open Science Conference, as well as reports on progress with the Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic (EBA) programme, SCAR-MarBIN, the Southern Ocean Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey and the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) project. The CAML had a highly successful field season with 18 ships contributing to the Census. SCAR-MarBIN data portal continues to gather information on marine biodiversity in the Antarctic and the CPR Survey continues to grow with more countries contributing. The SCAR/SCOR Oceanography Expert Group continues to develop plans for Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS). A detailed report of SOOS is provided as a supplementary information paper CCAMLR-XXVI/BG/43. SCAR has established new Action Groups on “Cold Seeps and Hydrothermal Vents”, “Antarctic Fuel Spills” and “Prediction on Changes in the Physical and Biological Environment of the Antarctic”. The 10th SCAR International Biology Symposium will be held in Sapporo from 26 to 31 July, 2009, with the theme "Antarctic Biology in the 21st Century --Advances in and beyond IPY--". The report includes a message from the new SCAR President Prof. Mahlon “Chuck” Kennicutt II (USA).