CCAMLR

This document reports that how new bottom long line system instead of Spanish long line system was applied to exploratory long line fisheries for Dissostichus spp. in 2005/06 season, indicating distinctive points on fishing gear, line setting and line hauling process, and explaining the reason why there was no seabirds caught at line setting and line hauling either.

During February-March 2006, the United Station Antarctic Marine Living Resources (U.S. AMLR) Program in collaboration with the German Federal Research Centre for Fisheries conducted a bottom trawl survey of the northern Antarctic Peninsula (southern Bransfield Strait) and Joinville/D’Urville Islands. This area included the likely historical fishing grounds of a trawl fishery for the spiny icefish (Chaenodraco wilsoni) conducted from the late 1970’s to the mid-1980’s, as well as rarely sampled shelf areas to the south. Estimates of seabed area by strata between 50-500 m for the region surveyed are computed. Information on demersal finfish biomass, spatial distribution, size and maturity composition, and dietary patterns from the survey is presented. Most biomass of finfish in this region occurs around the likely historical fishing grounds, north of Joinville Island. In addition to the inventory of species encountered, estimates of total stock biomass were computed for the eight most abundant demersal species: Chaeonodraco wilsoni, Chionodraco rastrospinosus, Cryodraco antarcticus, Gobionotothen gibberifrons, Lepidonotothen larseni, Lepidonotothen squamifrons, Notothenia coriiceps, and Trematomous eulepidotus. The species with the highest biomass was G. gibberifrons. Observations on benthic bycatch, and differences in finfish species composition and abundance between this surveyed region and the adjacent South Shetland Islands region of Subarea 48.1 are given. High–Antarctic finfish fauna are considerably more prominent on the Antarctic Peninsula shelf region relative to the South Shetland Islands shelf region, and overall abundance of finfish is considerably lower. This is likely due to the influence of colder water from Weddell outflow, lower productivity, and lower prey availability along the Antarctic Peninsula region. Biomass for all species of demersal finfish in this region is currently not at a level for which commercial exploitation would be advisable.

Materials on results of scientific observation in fishery cruise on the longliner “Mellas”, operating under the Ukrainian flag in FAO statistical area 41 in the southwest Atlantic outside exclusive (sea) economic zones of the foreign states at Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) fisheries are submitted. The data on volume of the biological material collected in the cruise, the data on size-mass, sexual structure, parasitology of Patagonian toothfish, taxonomic structure of catches are given.

Although a breeding population of black-browed albatrosses has been known to exist at the Ildefonso Archipelago, Chile, for > 90 years the population has never been censused using scientifically defendable methods. To estimate population size, and examine the accuracy and practicality of various census methods, the population was censused in the 2002/03 breeding season using a) ground-truthed aerial photography, b) yacht-based photography, c) ground counts, d) quadrat sampling and e) point-distance sampling. Compared to ground-truthed aerial photography (judged the most accurate) yacht-based photography underestimated population size by 55%, ground counts by 13%, quadrat sampling by 11% and point-distance sampling by 9%. Ground-truthed air photography revealed that in the 2002/03 breeding season 47,000 pairs of black-browed albatrosses bred at the Ildefonso archipelago. After the Falkland Islands/Malvinas, South Georgia and Diego Ramirez, the Ildefonso Archipelago holds the fourth largest population of black-browed albatrosses in the world.

The paper presents an estimate of IUU catches of toothfish during the 2005/06 fishing season, using the standard methodology.

Data on Antarctic toothfish stomach contents were collected from Subarea 88.1 on board of the longliner “Yantar” under Russian flag in the 2005/06 season. The results of researches demonstrated that the main toothfish food in the Ross Sea were not cephalopods, but bottom and demersal fishes, Macrourus whitsoni in particular. The list of 25 fish species of 14 families is given.

Data on length and gonad-weight distribution, maturity and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni were collected from Subarea 88.1 on board of the longliner “Yantar” under Russian flag in the 2005/06 season.
Our supposition is that the predominant part of Antarctic toothfish population observed in SSRU –H, K, L in December 2005 – February 2006 will not be ready for participation in spawning of the current year. Ovaries of the most females weighed less than 2.0 kg; average GSI value of all the females examined did not exceed 2.0%.