CCAMLR

This report describes and quantifies the occurrence of oil, paint, marine debris and fishing gear associated with seabirds at South Georgia. In this, the fifth year of standardised recording, a marked increase in the quantity of plastic debris associated with seabirds was evident; quantities of fishing gear remained within the levels of previous years for all species (although the number of squid jigs associated with grey-headed albatrosses increased); feather soiling (by oil and paint) was observed on two wandering albatrosses; human food waste was associated with wandering albatross and plastic debris with black-browed albatross for the first time in this study.

A pilot census of light-mantled sooty albatross Phoebetria palpebrata nests was conducted on western Campbell Island in November 1995. An extrapolation from 292 nests counted on 19 km of coastline, more than 77 seen on offshore islands, and 32 found in four inland areas, suggests that there were at least 1600 nests on the island in 1995-96. Standard vantage points were established for future index counts. Sixty nests were monitored, and 50% were still successfully rearing chick in January-February. Five nests at Beeman Hill and 12 nests at north-west Lyall ridge were monitored closely, and adults banded.

The black petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni) is a vulnerable endemic seabird, which breeds only on Little and Great Barrier Islands, New Zealand. During late January and February 1997, within the main breeding area around the highest point on Great Barrier Island, Kirakimata (Mount Hobson), 100 burrows that had adults present were selected as long-term study burrows. The burrows were either accessible through the entrance or easily excavated to reach their contents. Eighty four of these burrows were used by breeding paris, and the remainder by non-breeding adults. The threee 1600 m2 census areas set up in 1996 around the summit were monitored over the 1997 breeding season. A total of 54 burrows were located within the census grids and 36 were being used by breeding pairs. A preliminary estiate extrapolating from the grid burrows shows the population consists of 4 500 breeding birds and at least 685 non-breeding birds.

During February and March 1998, a 43-day cruise on FV Tierra del Fuego was conducted as part of the New Fisheries Projects developed by Chile, mainly in order to establish presence of Dissostichus spp. in the CCAMLR Statistical Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 88.3. Industrial longlines Spanish system were used for the operations, with variable quantities of fishhooks (1 440-4 320), No. 9 Mustard Kirby type, mainly between 600 and 2 550 m deep. Sardines (Sardinops sagax) and squids (Illex argentinus) were used as bait. The results of this research indicated that the Antarctic toothfish (D. mawsoni) was registered on the surroundings of Pedro I Island (Latitude 68°49'S), and from the Bellingshausen Sea (Latitude 70038'S) to the Clarence and Elephant Islands (Latitude 61°14'S). While the Patagonian toothfish (D. eleginoides) was captured from King George Island, in the Antarctic-Pacific Ocean (latitude 61°24'S) to the Scottish Sea in the Antarctic-Atlantic (Latitude 58°01'S). The Dissostichus spp. yielded small quantities in the three subareas, with values of only 5.7 g/hook (Subarea 88.3), 19.1 g/hook (Subarea 48.1) and 3.0 g/hook (Subarea 48.2), with a total average of 11.1 g/hook.

At the 1997 Meetings of the Scientific Committee of CCAMLR and its CCAMLR Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (WG-EMM), several areas of mutual interest between SC-CAMLR and the IWC were identified:
Coordination of CCAMLR and IWC research activities;
Analysis of historical and recent datasets;
CCAMLR surveys as platforms of opportunity for whale sightings;
Considerations for re-establishing minke whales as a monitoring species in the CCAMLR Ecosystem Program (CEMP); and
Annual exchange of information.
SC-CAMLR suggests that a closer collaboration between CCAMLR and the IWC could best be achieved by forming a small liaison group with IWC-SC which could work (mostly by correspondence) on matters outlined above. Members of this group should cover a wide range of expertise and should not be confined to those who attend meetings of both CCAMLR and the IWC.