CCAMLR

Antarctic krill and salps are major macroplankton contributors to Southern Ocean food webs and biogeochemical cycles. Sustainably managing the fishery for Antarctic krill against a backdrop of rapid regional climate change requires information on distribution and changes over time. Many data have been collected on the abundance of the two taxa from net sampling surveys since 1926, but they are stored in national archives, sometimes only in archived notebooks. An international team of scientists has collated these disparate data into a central database called KRILLBASE, a composite, circumpolar database of numerical density (no.m^-2) of postlarval Euphausia superba and salps (aggregate and solitaries and species combined), with associated environmental information, metadata and documentation. The aim is to provide a temporal-spatial data resource to support studies of Southern Ocean ecology, including studies in support of fisheries management and conservation.  Previous versions of KRILLBASE have led to a series of papers since 2004 that illustrate some of its potential uses. The latest version contains data on krill from ~12,520 hauls and data on salps from ~10,832 hauls. These span 49 seasons in two epochs (1926-1939 and 1976-2011), including over 215 individual surveys from 11 nations, and data from both monitoring programs and large synoptic surveys. Due to variations in sampling method KRILLBASE includes additional standardised krill density data representing the expected density from a relatively efficient sampling method. This document illustrates the coverage and variability in sampling, and provides circumpolar distribution maps of krill and salps, as well as regional maps for the well-sampled Atlantic and Indian Ocean sectors of the Southern Ocean. The data were made available via a public website (https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/krillbase/) and the Digital Object Identifier http://doi.org/brg8 in October 2016. A forthcoming data paper will provide information on how to screen, interpret and use KRILLBASE to reduce artefacts in interpretation.

Russian Federation is going to continue investigation for toothfish in Ross Sea in fishing seasons 2016-2019. The present program aims to recapture tagged fishes released during the implementation of the previous research program took place in 2010-2012 fishing seasons and investigate resource potential and life cycle of Dissostichus species within the eastern part of the Ross Sea over shelf and continental slope within the Subarea 88.2 A.

This document proposes multinational research in Subarea 88.2 A by  Russian vessel and vessels from another CCAMLR country-members participating  the proposed survey together.

The interim distribution of the trigger level in the fishery for Antarctic krill (CM 51-01) will be revised in 2016. The trigger level is not related to the status of the krill stock and the predators that depend on it. Progressing the development of an operational FBM system in accordance with the Convention has been set as a high priority by CCAMLR. There are currently three FBM proposals tabled to CCAMLR, all of which require refinements. In particular, clarity about the data required to ensure their proper functioning is lacking. This paper restructures and synthesizes information from existing proposals presented at the two preceding WG-EMM meetings, and discussions during the respective intersessional periods. Similar to the currently-tabled FBM strategies, the proposal we present here is reliant on data from the fishing fleet, highlighting the critical importance of engaging fully with the fishing industry. Presenting the industry with clearly defined data requirements for the successful implementation of a FBM strategy will likely stimulate them to cooperate and coordinate as needed. Here we outline a FBM strategy proposal for subarea 48.1, primarily enacted though a combination of time and space restriction to the fishery, an approach that can be adjusted as needed to fit similar challenges in other sub-areas. The paper describes priorities in the proponents’ work in the near future to support the approach and invite other initiatives to cooperation. This paper further highlights that interactions and coordination among existing proposals that recognize the differences and similarities among Sub-Areas are needed.

Preliminary assessment of the potential for proposed bottom fishing activities to have significant adverse impacts on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems(VMEs) submitted by Republic of Korea.