CCAMLR

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) entered into force on Sunday 1 February 2004. Six countries (Australia, New Zealand, Ecuador, Spain, the Republic of South Africa, and the United Kingdom ) have ratified the Agreement, and another five have signed it (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France and Peru). ACAP is expected to provide a major boost for the conservation of threatened seabirds. The first Meeting of the Parties is to be held in Hobart, Australia, on 10—12 November 2004. The agenda for this meeting is prescribed under Article VIII of the Agreement, and will principally address administrative matters. Issues to be discussed include adoption of rules of procedure; determining financial arrangements, a scale of contributions and a budget; establishment of a Secretariat for the Agreement; establishment of an Advisory Committee to provide expert advice to the Parties; and adoption of criteria to define emergency situations that require immediate action.

Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans are globally threatened due to population declines and the Macquarie Island breeding populations is particularly vulnerable as it comprises fewer than 20 breeding pairs. Most breeding birds in this small population are banded and monitoring over the last 40 years has increasingly focused on their conservation status. Demographic trends of the Macquarie Island Wandering Albatrosses between 1955 and 2003 are described here, combining historical data with information from an intensive demographic study conducted between 1994 and 2003. Annual breeding effort and survival varied markedly with breeding numbers declining from a peak in 1964 to near extinction levels in the mid 1980’s. Underlying this decline was a significant decrease in juvenile survival and, to a lesser extent, adult survival. These survival changes were coincident with changes in fishing effort in the eastern Indian Ocean. Breeding numbers slowly increased on Macquarie Island through the 1980s, reaching 19 breeding pairs in the mid 1990s and the population remains at this level today. Trends in population numbers and survival are similar to that observed in other populations in the Indian Ocean including Marion Island, Iles Crozet and Amsterdam Island. The age distribution of the current breeding population also provides supporting evidence that there were periods of low juvenile survival. Although the current population has remained stable at approximately 19 breeding pairs for the last seven years, the small size makes it extremely vulnerable to any activities that elevate mortality rates.

1. While Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are often established to protect threatened top-order predators, there is a paucity of data that can be used to evaluate their efficacy in achieving this purpose.
2. We assessed the effectiveness of a network of MPAs around Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean by examining the foraging areas of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses that were breeding on the Island.
3. During late incubation and brood periods over 90% of time spent foraging by black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophrys was contained within MPAs, principally the Economic Exclusion Zone around Macquarie Island. In contrast, grey-headed albatrosses (T. chrysostoma) spent on only 34 % of their time foraging in MPAs.
4. Black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses spent 30 % and 15 % of their respective foraging time in the Marine Park around Macquarie Island.
5. Both black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses foraged in Antarctic waters under the jurisdiction of CCAMLR, accounting for 5% and 12% of the total foraging time respectively.
6. There was significant spatial overlap in the areas utilised by black-browed albatrosses and a licensed trawl vessel operating within 200nm of Macquarie Island.
7. The spatial extent of MPAs around Macquarie Island appear to adequately cover much of the foraging distribution of breeding black-browed albatrosses from Macquarie Island; however, most of this was in the EEZ not covered by the Macquarie Island Marine Park.
8. Grey-headed albatrosses spend significantly more time in waters outside the spatial extent of these areas and are at higher risk from fisheries activities and other threats.
9. Further information on albatross movements is required to assess the efficacy of MPAs in protecting foraging habitats outside of the breeding season.

Black-browed (Thalassarche melanophrys) and grey-headed (T. chrysostoma) albatrosses are globally threatened seabirds that breed on remote subantarctic islands. Population trends of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses breeding on Macquarie Island were described using historical data in conjunction with data from a more intensive ten year monitoring program. Survival estimates were also calculated for both species over similar time frames. Breeding numbers and survival rates of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses appear to have remained relatively stable since the mid 1970s. There was no conclusive evidence of survival varying over time and it is unlikely that these populations have been impacted significantly by extra mortality due to fisheries activities. This is in contrast to most other subantarctic populations of these species and may be attributed to their foraging ranges not overlapping significantly with areas of high fisheries activities. However, both species forage in areas of new and expanding legal and illegal fishery operations. Due to their extremely small size, these populations remain chronically vulnerable to any elevated levels of mortality

We briefly summarize the available literature (17 documents) on the nature of seabird interactions with trawl gear, efforts to date on the development of technologies to prevent these interactions, and management imperatives affecting the Alaska trawl fleet. We also summarize available literature on cooperative research with the fishing industry (2 documents). The purpose of this review was to bring this emerging issue in seabird conservation to the attention of the fishing industry and fishery managers, and to inform the process of developing appropriate mitigation technologies for the Alaska fleet.

Beginning in 2004, improved seabird avoidance measures are required in the Alaska (USA) demersal longline fisheries for groundfish and Pacific halibut based on the results of extensive collaborative research. Due to the lack of data on the distribution of seabirds, especially albatrosses and petrels, seabird mitigation requirements apply to all fishing areas. Many small (

To examine consistency among laboratories in age estimation of Patagonian toothfish and the effects on readings of different otolith processing methods, scales and otoliths were taken from 124 fishes caughts in Argentine Sea ( South West Atlantic)
Ages were estimated by readers from National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) Argentine, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Nelson, New Zealand (NIWA), and Centre for Quantitative Fisheries Ecology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, United States of America. (CQFE).
As a consequence of the exchange of otoliths carried out with NIWA, and the results presented, it is apparent that the NIWA preparation method produced a clearer section. More hyaline bands were visible in the NIWA preparations, particularly near the otolith margin where the zones can be very narrow. Consequently, INIDEP has adopted the NIWA method to process otoliths of the Patagonian toothfish from the Argentine Sea.
So even though Patagonian toothfish otoliths could not be classified as easy to read, the clarity of their zones is quite similar in the South Atlantic, the waters south of New Zealand, and CCAMLR subarea 48.3.
The comparisons of age data produced by three readers indicate a reasonable consistency for otoliths. The indices of average percent error for comparisons between R1 and R2 are satisfactory. Reader R3 generally produced older age because he has a different interpretation of the first few increments.
Comparisons of age estimations derived from scales and otoliths are less consistent.There were significant differences in age determinations from scales between R1 and R3, and between scales and otoliths by R1 and R3. Clearly, there are differences between these readers in the interpretation of these structures, and also difficulties reconciling the counts derived from otoliths and scales from individual fish. Further work is necessary on this issue to develop consistent interpretations for age readings.

The diet of the mackerel icefish was investigated from stomach contents analysis of fish caught in research trawls at South Georgia and Shag Rocks in January 2004. The results are consistent with previous studies, with the dominant species consumed being Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), the pelagic amphipod (Themisto gaudichaudi) and mysids. The diet differed between the age classes of icefish examined (2+, 3+ and 4++), with the younger fish consuming more T. gaudichaudi and small euphausids and the older fish taking more krill and fish. The change in diet reflects a shift from smaller to larger prey items with size.

The diet of juvenile (

Twenty-eight species of seabird were reported from observations during longline setting operations that targeted toothfish (Dissostichus spp.) in 2001–03 in Sub-areas 88.1 and 88.2. The distribution of fishing effort was dictated by the presence of sea ice and there are differences in the seabird composition reported each year because of variation in the spatial distribution of the seabirds. At-sea identification of some species is difficult and some of the species that were reported from outside their known distribution range may have been misidentified. The most commonly seen seabirds were cape petrels (Daption capense), Antarctic petrels (Thalassoica antarctica), Wilson's storm petrels (Oceanities oceanicus), and snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea). The highest species diversity was in waters north of about 70º S off the continental shelf. Seabirds were not always seen in attendance at the setting operation and appeared to be generally uninterested in the line setting and were more likely to be well astern of the vessel. There were very few observations of seabirds diving on the bait during the set. Lost bait or bycatch fish species, mainly rattails (Macrourus spp.), were taken by some seabird species during hauling, but this feeding was away from the vessel activity. Nine marine mammal species were observed close to vessels during hauling, but there were few observations.