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 outlined the first multi-member toothfish exploratory fishery research plan for these Divisions, including research objectives, methods and milestones in accordance with ANNEX 24-01/A. Subsequent research progress has included updated toothfish habitat models and stock hypothesis (WG-FSA-17/16); updated ageing and growth estimation (WG-FSA-17/15, WG-FSA-17/66); investigation of sex ratios, gonadal development and validation of validation of macro- versus micro-staging of maturity (WG-FSA-17/09); investigation of approaches for mitigation of Macrourus by-catch in research block 58.4.1_6, and estimation of Macrourus biomass and sustainable bycatch in Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2 (WG-FSA-17/16); and description of encounter rates of VME indicator species (WG-SAM-16/34).

In this paper we report on exploratory fishing activities undertaken by Australia, France, Japan, Republic of Korea and Spain between the 2011/12 and 2017/18 fishing seasons, including the quantity of data and samples collected. Reports relating to specific research milestones for 2018 will be submitted to WG-FSA-18. The summaries provided herein were generated using an R-Markdown document which can be made available to Members to facilitate reporting on data collection in CCAMLR's Exploratory Fisheries.

Annex paper to the WS-DmpH-18 meeting report (part 2 of 2)

Updates to the CEMP data submission e-forms for parameters A3 and A8 have been proposed to allow for more detailed data collection fields on prey species type and krill length, and to ensure consistency in data collection methodology. Updating these e-forms will also require an update to the method descriptions for these parameters in the CEMP Standard Methods manual. However, given the age of this document and that the last review of the manual was completed in 2004, the Secretariat proposes a review of the manual intersessionally by the CEMP e-group in order to ensure that it is meeting Members’ requirements.

Over time there has been a general decline in the collection of penguin diet composition data through the A8 parameter of the CEMP program, due to concerns surrounding the invasive nature of the methods. A pilot study was conducted at Esperanza Station for the 2017/18 season to consider opportunistic data collection methods as an alternate approach. Data on diet composition and krill length were obtained from collecting samples of ‘krill spill’, which comes from regurgitation during chick feeding. The krill length frequency of the krill spill sample was compared to data collected utilising the A8 standard methods. While the length frequencies were similar, more opportunistic data must be collected alongside A8 monitoring efforts to ensure that krill spill samples accurately represent data collected using the standard diet sampling procedures.

There are some limits to the accurate counting of the total number of nests by ground survey at large scale breeding sites of penguins. To compensate for these shortcomings of the classical method, we tested the effectiveness of aerial photography for penguin monitoring at Cape Hallett. Images taken with a drone had a higher resolution than those taken by helicopter, and in the drone images, nests were more clearly distinguishable from other subjects. The drone was unable to obtain images from some of the colonies because it was difficult to access those areas located below the mountain slope, but we filled the missing parts by using photographs taken by helicopter at a high altitude. By adjusting the images’ brightness and saturation, penguin chicks could be distinguished from rocks and adults, enabling us to count the number of chicks. Aerial drone photography was also useful for pinpointing the exact location and type of wastes generated by human activities throughout Cape Hallett.

Results presented here contribute to the currently poor knowledge of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in Southern Ocean, based on preliminary results regarding the distribution of the species around the northern Antarctic Peninsula. We show a broad view of the sightings based on data collected from 2013 to 2018 by the Brazilian Antarctic Program the Polar Vessel (NPo) Almirante Maximiano during the austral summer. Distance sampling methods were used during the cetacean monitoring effort. A total of 630 fin whale individuals were sighted within 287 groups that varied in size form 1 to 31 ( = 5.12). The species seems to the shifting or spreading its distribution to the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula and also to southern regions than previously recorded. We still working on these data and aim to present the results of such further research on the oncoming CCAMLR meetings. The information we are generating with this research is essential for decision makers to consider management strategies to this endangered species and to its main prey item, the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba.

Understanding of the dynamics of the Antarctic krill fishery and the krill population played an important role in the feed-back management of krill fishery. The CPUE data collected from the Chinese F/V Fu Rong Hai from 2012/13 to 2016/17 fishing seasons were used to describe the temporal and spatial dynamics of the population and the fishery of krill in CCAMLR Subarea 48.1. The acoustic data collected from the fishing season of 2015/16 was also used to show the development of the krill population. In most fishing seasons, krill abundances were found higher in autumn than that of in summer. In autumn, the fishing activity usually concentrated in the middle of the Bransfield strait Acoustic data showed similar dynamics of the krill in the Bransfield strait with CPUE data in the 2015/16 fishing season.

Data of basic parameters of foraging behaviour (foraging trip duration, total foraging trip distance, and maximum distance from the colony) and of foraging range for Gentoo penguin and Chinstrap penguin studied in Byers Peninsula and Deception Island respectively are given.

In order to adequately achieve CCAMLR’s conservation objectives and preserve the biodiversity of the Southern Ocean, a variety of ecosystems must be protected. This holds especially true for the benthic communities of this region that are characteristically mosaic in their distributions. As such, disparate communities cannot be assessed by a single blanket methodology, as explicitly expressed in CCAMLR’s Report of the Workshop on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (E-SC-XXVIII-A10, 2009) and as recognized by WG-EMM in previous years. Herein, evidence appropriate to the diverse characteristics of the communities encountered during this submarine expedition demonstrates the particular vulnerability of five sites that exemplify CCAMLR’s definitions of a VME. Three sites are proposed based on highly significant abundances of VME indicator taxa. One is proposed based on the observance of a high density and diversity of cold-water coral taxa not observed at the sites that were triggered as vulnerable by a high abundance of indicator taxa and, which are considered particularly vulnerable to climate change. One is proposed based on the last criteria set out in the Report of the WS-VME (E-SC-XXVIII-A10, 2009) that states that rare and unique populations should be considered highly vulnerable regardless of their habitat-forming characteristics. Finally, recommended amendments to CCAMLR’s VME Taxa Classification guide (Parker et al., 2009) - now almost a decade old - are provided.

The spatial distribution and swarm characteristics of Antarctic krill were studied using the swarm-based method established in SG-ASAM-17. Acoustic data were collected from the FV Fu Rong Hai using Simrad EK60 echosounder (38/70/120 kHz) during four transect surveys conducted in December 2013, March 2015, January 2016 and February 2018 around South Shetland Islands. The swarm characteristics, including Volume Backscattering Strength (Sv), Nautical Area Scattering Coefficient (NASC), depth, thickness and length of swarms were estimated from the 120kHz data. The full spatial distributions of acoustic density were obtained with Kriging space interpolation, which showed that krill usually aggregated as swarms in a patchy fashion and the mean krill densities in December 2013 and February 2018 were markedly higher than the other two years. Meanwhile, much more swarms (1055) were detected in February 2018 than the other three years. The results also indicated that more krill swarms located at deeper water in March 2015 compared with those in December 2013, January 2016 and February 2018, although the majority of swarms were also found in the upper 100 m layer. The swarm-based method provides a promising way not only for biomass estimation but also for the study of swarm characteristics.