CCAMLR

We invite Members to collaborate with the U.S. AMLR Program to conduct a multi-national, empirical study of krill flux through the Bransfield Strait and across the continental shelf surrounding Astrolabe Island. We propose to conduct this study with 20+ acoustically instrumented moorings. Collaboration could include refining study design, deploying and recovering moorings, conducting separate acoustic surveys to estimate krill standing stock within the study area, and, ultimately, data analysis and synthesis.

The UK undertook a bottom trawl survey of CCAMLR sub-Area 48.3 on the FV Sil between the 27thth January and 5th February 2019. A total of 73 random and representative hauls were completed covering depths of between 108 and 352m. Overall biomass of mackerel icefish, Chamsocephalus gunnari, was calculated at 50,897 tonnes with a lower 1-sided 95% interval estimate of 30,288 tonnes. This is lower than in 2017, but is comparable with the long term average. The highest catches were on the moraine banks of the two northern strata and at the western end of Shag Rocks, with one high catch recorded in the South West stratum.

Clear regional differences in C. gunnari diet composition were observed. At Shag Rocks Euphausid spp. made the largest contribution to icefish diet, however the amphipod Themisto sp. dominated the diet around South Georgia. Based on the Index of Relative Importance, the importance of E. superba as a prey species varied across the four regions at South Georgia, ranging from 10.48% IRI in the South West to 33.49% IRI in the South East.

Catches of juvenile Dissostichus eleginoides were small and dominated by fish of 18-26cm (TL) indicating the presence of a cohort of age 1+ fish. Estimated biomass for the other icefish species, Pseudochaenichtys georgianus and Chaenocephalus aceratus, were higher than results obtained in 2017. The estimated biomass of Notothenia rossi was higher than observed in 2017 and is the second highest seen in the survey time series. The estimated biomass of Patogonotothen guntheri was also higher than observed in 2017, and was the third highest in the survey time series.

Reliable species identification and population assessments of skates are crucial for the sustainable management of their vulnerable stocks. However, species identification is a major challenge in skate studies due to convergent morphology within and between genera. In this study, we applied molecular tools to identify specimens of softnose skates (Bathyraja spp.) caught as bycatch from the longline fishery around South Georgia. Mitochondrial DNA Control Region sequence analyses highlighted a discrepancy between previous genetic studies of B. meridionalis and B. maccaini that challenged the identification of our putative B. meridionalis samples. Detailed analyses of Bathyraja data submitted in Genbank lead to the conclusion that our South Georgia samples were likely to be B. meridionalis but further mitochondrial markers are being sequenced to confirm species identity. Genetic diversity of these putative B. meridionalis was low and indicated a single population around South Georgia. We are currently developing faster-evolving microsatellite markers to more robustly assess genetic diversity and population structure in this species.

This update by SCAR on recent advances in our understanding of climate change across the Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and the impacts on the terrestrial and marine biota and ecosystems, builds on the material included in the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) report, published by SCAR in 2009 (Turner et al. 2009), with an update of the key points in 2013 (Turner et al. 2014).

At the request of the ATCM, SCAR agreed to provide regular updates on the original report (e.g. ATCM Resolution 4 (2010)). This activity is coordinated by the SCAR ACCE Expert Group (see http://www.scar.org/ssg/physical-sciences/acce), which provides annual updates to the ATCM.  The remit of the ACCE group is to keep abreast of recent advances in climate science, with a particular focus on Antarctic climate change and the environmental implications of such changes.

The original ACCE report and an overview of significant updates are available online as a wiki at http://acce.scar.org/wiki/Antarctic_Climate_Change_and_the_Environment. The online version is progressively updated by a number of editors with input from many active scientists.

From 15 to 17 May 2019 Antarctica New Zealand and COMNAP hosted a Search and Rescue Workshop in New Zealand. The CCAMLR secretariat attended the workshop as it has arrangements in place to provide to VMS data to Rescue Coordination Centres (RCCs) for incidents relating to Search and Rescue in the Southern Ocean. Following the workshop, the Secretariat continues to support Member engagement and familiarity with SAR user portal on the CAMLR website.

SCAR is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC), comprising 44 member countries, nine ISC unions and many individual scientists. SCAR is charged with initiating, developing and coordinating high quality international scientific research in, from and about the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean, and providing objective, independent scientific advice.

SCAR’s Mission is to advance Antarctic research, including observations from Antarctica, and to promote scientific knowledge, understanding and education on any aspect of the Antarctic region and its role in the Earth System. SCAR also provides independent and objective scientific advice and information to the Antarctic Treaty System and other bodies and facilitates the international exchange of Antarctic information within the scientific community.

Here, SCAR reports on recent and future activities of relevance to CCAMLR.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) advocates and promotes the practice of safe, environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic. This paper provides an overview of Antarctic tourism trends and a summary of 2018-2019 IAATO activities it believes are most relevant to CCAMLR. IAATO is firmly committed to supporting the work of the Antarctic Treaty System by openly exchanging pertinent information with other Antarctic stakeholders.