Russian Federation is going to continue investigation  of life –cycle and resource potential for Dissostichus spp. in Ross Sea. This paper presents the   research program in the frame of the Research and Monitoring Plan for RSRMOR. 

The research program shall be conducted in the Special Research Zone during 2019 - 2027 or the first reference period for existence of the RSRMPA.   This program provides possibility   for collaborative investigations in the Special Research Zone by Russian vessels and vessel from other CCAMLR members.

The Oceanographic study of the Subarea 48.6 on the SST, SIC, PST, current and wind vector was conducted. The lower SST corresponded to the higher SIC and vice versa. The PST  indicates  the  mixed  layer  depths  in  research  block5.  The  currents  around the research block 4 and 5 were indicated. It is found out that there is a relationship between the SST and the wind. The CTD vertical profile data collected by Tronio should contribute  to  developing  this  oceanographic  study.

An Analysis of the sea ice concentration (SIC) in research blocks 2,3,4, and 5 of subarea 48.6, with sea surface temperature(SST) and statistical models is presented. 

For research block 4, the SIC in 2019 was the highest for the last 4 years (2016-2019). For research block 5, the SIC in 2019 was also as high as in 2016 but around the west of block 5 the SIC in 2019 was much lower than in 2016. The lower SST anomalies corresponds to the higher SICs in 2019 both in research blocks 4 and 5 and vice versa. The chart of the SIC as per HYCOM corresponds well to the SIC derived from data by the University of Bremen(AMSR2). Repeated Accessibility(RA) in research blocks 4 and 5 with statistical models, where the limit of navigability for fishing vessels is set at 20 % SIC, was calculated. It should become possible to predict the accessibility to research blocks 4 and 5 with the model in cooperation with HYCOM.

The toothfish catch estimation on board of fishing vessels at the CCAMLR area is being done often in a difficult weather conditions at sea, which can cause a negative impact on the measurement equipment. Besides, until today the “green weight” of the toothfish catch on fishing vessels was not estimated directly, but by calculation, based on the weight of the production using appropriate conversion factors (coefficients) determined experimentally. These circumstances, together with mistakes in the informational communication on board of fishing vessels, can lead to a significant distortion of fishing catches in operational statistical reports. The document analyzes the significance of all the critical factors and offers recommendations on how to minimize the distortions in catch estimation on board of fishing vessels.

Catch rates or catch per unit of effort (CPUE) are used for data-poor exploratory fisheries without integrated assessments in the CPUE by seabed area method to estimate stock biomass in the interim of collecting sufficient tag recaptures. Here, we address the two questions: (1) which unit of effort should be used for catch rates in mixed longline fisheries, and (2) how do different parameters such as gear type, vessel, fishing season, month, bait, fishing depth and area affect estimates of trend and magnitude of catch rates.

Using data from the Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish fishery, we compared effort units including length of line (km), total number of hooks per line, and a combination of total number of hooks per line for autoline and Spanish line and total number of clusters for trotline (hooks/cluster) with Generalised Linear Models (GLMs). The model with total hook numbers was preferred with the lowest Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC), however standardised catch rates over the fishing season differed little between the models with the three effort units, so the effect of the choice of effort unit on the estimated standardised catch rates is small.

The parameters with the largest effects in the catch rate models were vessel, gear and bait, with vessels showing by far the largest effect size. This confirms previous advice that research fishing is conducted with a high level of spatial and temporal overlap between vessels and gear types to allow for a meaningful standardisation of variables such as catch rates.

To assist in future quality checking of data, we also recommend a new reporting field in the C2 form for the number of droplines per line deployed.

Robust stock assessments and catch limits for Dissostichus mawsoni according to CCAMLR decision rules remain to be determined for Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2, and precautionary management arrangements are in place as set out in Conservation Measures 41-11 and 41-05. WG-FSA-16/29 and WG-FSA-18/59 outlined the multi-member toothfish exploratory fishery research plans for these Divisions, including research objectives, methods and milestones in accordance with ANNEX 24-01/A.

In this paper we report on exploratory fishing activities undertaken by Australia, France, Japan, Republic of Korea and Spain between the 2011/12 and 2018/19 fishing seasons, including the quantity of data and samples collected, as per Milestone 1.1 of WG-FSA-18/59. Reports relating to other research milestones for 2019 will be submitted to WG-FSA-19. The summaries provided herein were generated using an R-Markdown document which is available to Members to facilitate reporting on data collection in CCAMLR's Exploratory Fisheries.

This paper describes some of the planned updates to the 2019 integrated stock assessment for the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) fishery in Division 58.5.2. These updates will include, inter alia, the estimation and inclusion of fishing mortality caused by longline gear loss, and an adjustment to the maturity function to be used in the assessment.

A field study is planned to validate the thorn ageing method for Antarctic starry skate (Amblyraja georgiana). This study is a fast, simple ‘add-on’ that will complement the aims of the skate tagging programme. The antibiotic terramycin (oxytetracycline hydrochloride, OTC) will be injected into skates brought into the boat for tagging during the 2019-20 skate tagging programme in the Ross Sea. Injections will be made intra-muscularly in the wings and/or the lateral tail base using a 1 ml auto-injector gun at a dose rate of 25 mg per kg of skate (± 10 mg/kg). Recaptured skates should be frozen whole, or a selection of caudal thorns removed and frozen, and returned to Wellington for lab analysis. The injection equipment and materials can be readily sourced from manufacturers provided by participating members. If necessary, New Zealand can provide injection equipment and terramycin to vessels transiting New Zealand prior to the 2019 fishery to encourage participation in this programme.