CCAMLR

Pleuragramma antarcticum is the only Antarctic notothenioid characterized by a complete pelagic life cycle and plays a major trophic role in the coastal Antarctic marine ecosystem. A previous genetic study investigated the population structure of this species, but used mitochondrial DNA sequencing and was unable to discriminate between hypotheses of panmixia, with occasional fluctuations of gene pools, and population structure. In the present study, we used 16 EST-linked microsatellites to investigate the population structure of P. antarcticum along the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) shelf, a region of Antarctica highly impacted by regional warming. We found a single gene pool and an absence of inter-annual variability in the southwestern AP, while significant genetic differences were detected on a small geographic scale from samples collected off the tip of the AP, with a signal of increased fragmentation over time. Assignment tests revealed a stronger flow of migrants moving southward along the western AP, following the anti-clockwise Coastal Current, than in the opposite direction. Reduced level of gene flow along the shelf, the increase of population fragmentation with time, and the inability to capture P. antarcticum in the central region of the western AP for two consecutive years, all suggest that this sea-ice dependent species could be highly vulnerable to climate change with possible cascading effects on the Antarctic marine food web.

Argentina presents information collected by an air surveillance mission that it carried out on 6th March 2013, that included the area of the Antarctic Peninsula (Statistic Subarea 48.1) and in which it identified seven fishing vessels, all of them being CCAMLR-licenced vessels.

CCAMLR has made progress on addressing the recommendations from the 2008 Performance Review, but the process is still incomplete. ASOC has identified 14 incomplete recommendations that require further action from CCAMLR, SC-CAMLR, and other working groups. Most of these recommendations fall under the categories of Conservation and Management and Compliance and Enforcement, and are therefore critical items to implement. Fulfilment of all outstanding Performance Review recommendations will ensure CCAMLR’s continued leadership in the management of high-seas areas.

There are a number of steps that CCAMLR and its members can take to improve the governance and control of fishing vessels in the Southern Ocean and thereby enhance safety, ecosystem-based management and environmental protection. These include mandatory requirements for appropriate ice-strengthening and obtaining IMO numbers for all vessels, reports on all vessel incidents, and notification of Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) when entering or leaving Search and Rescue (SAR) areas. Additionally, it would be valuable for CCAMLR to encourage the IMO to include fishing vessels in the Polar Code at the earliest opportunity. CCAMLR Members should also support efforts to bring the new Cape Town Agreement, replacing the Torremolinos Protocol, into force, which would improve fishing vessel safety globally.