the kerguelen plateau: marine ecosystem + fisheries...

Monitoring of major by-catch species in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands fisheries

James Dell1,2, Gabrielle Nowara2, Dale Maschette1,2, Bryn Farmer1,2, Emma Woodcock1,2,3, Philippe Ziegler2 and Dirk Welsford2

1 Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Locked Bag 129, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia

2 Australian Antarctic Division, Department of Environment and Energy, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia

3 Current address: Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council, Hobart, Tasmania 7005, Australia Corresponding author: [email protected]

Keywords: by-catch, skates, rays, grenadier, grey rockcod, ecological risk assessment

329Second Kerguelen Plateau Symposium: marine ecosystem and fisheries: 329–339

THE KERGUELEN PLATEAU: MARINE ECOSYSTEM + FISHERIESProceedings of the Second Symposium

Marine Ecosystems & Fisheries • SYMPOSIUM 2017Kerguelen plateau

heardisland.antarctica.gov.au/research/kerguelen-plateau-symposium

Extended abstract

Conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of living marine resources have been central man-agement goals at Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) since Australian-managed commercial trawl, and later longline, fisheries for Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) and a commercial trawl fishery for mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) commenced in 1997. International high-seas fishing occurred in the region prior to the declaration of the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) and later exclusion eco-nomic zone (EEZ) around HIMI in 1979 (Duhamel and Williams, 2011). However, following these events, the science and management of the living marine resources at HIMI were initiated before the Australian fishery commenced in 1997, a rare occurrence in national and global fisheries. All activities within the Southern Ocean AFZ are governed by the Australian Fisheries Man-agement Act (1991), the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) and the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Act (1981), which establishes the processes for applying conserva-tion measures of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) under Australian law. The key principles and critical developments in precautionary by-catch management at HIMI are summarised in the proceedings of the first Kerguelen Plateau symposium (Duhamel and Welsford, 2011). The Australian by-catch policy is based around the precautionary approach and risk minimisation. CCAMLR has previously identified three main steps to minimise by-catch: (i) avoidance, (ii) mitigation and (iii) the setting of sustainable by-catch limits if mortality

is not preventable (SC-CAMLR-XXII, paragraph 5.230). There is a shared acknowledgement that by-catch should not unduly impede fishing operations.

Recently, the monitoring and management of non-target species caught as by-catch in fishing operations has been developed in parallel with environmental risk assessments on the effects of fishing (ERAEF) and is undertaken in all Australian Commonwealth fisheries (Hobday et al., 2011). In summary, the ERAEF process determines which elements of the ecosystem are most at risk using a data-dependent and precautionary three-stage hierarchical process: (i) low data qualitative, (ii) semi-quantitative, and (iii) a data-rich modelling stage. The fishery under review is assessed across five components: (i) target species, (ii) by-product and by-catch species, (iii) threatened and endangered species, (iv) habitats, and (v) ecological communities. The level of risk of each component is assessed and the hierarchical process determines the appropriate assess-ment required (Figure 1). The longline, midwater trawl and bottom trawl fisheries at HIMI have undergone the ERAEF process in 2007 and 2017 (Bulman et al., 2007a, 2007b; Daley et al., 2007; Bulman et al., 2018; Sporcic et al., 2018a, 2018b). The fishing records, fisheries and ecological research, management decisions and the ERAEF process constitute the structure of the manage-ment strategy evaluation cycle that has been developed to ensure management goals are met. Assessments of the target species are well reported in the CCAMLR literature. Here we briefly summarise the recommenda-tions of the ERAEF processes for HIMI and the resultant by-catch research and management in the Australian

Monitoring by-catch at HIMI

330 Second Kerguelen Plateau Symposium: marine ecosystem and fisheries

Dell et al.

Figure 1

Low/Medium Risk High Risk

LEVEL 2

PSA + RRA bSAFE + RRA

High Risk?

eSAFE + RRA


LEVEL 3Quantitative Assessment

(Including via Harvest Strategies)


PRE-EXISTING QUANTIATIVE ASSESSMENT

SCOPINGEstablish scope and context

Identify and document objectivesHazard identification

LEVEL 1 - SICA(Scale Intensity Consequence Analysis)

RISK MANAGEMENT

RESPONSE

Figure 1: Structure of the three-level hierarchical ERAEF methodology. SICA – scale intensity consequence analysis; PSA – productivity susceptibility analysis; SAFE – sustainability assessment for fishing effects; RRA – residual risk analysis. T1 – Tier 1. eSAFE may be used for species classified as high risk by bSAFE. (Source: Bulman et al., 2018.)

331

Monitoring by-catch at HIMIDell et al.

Second Kerguelen Plateau Symposium: marine ecosystem and fisheries

region of the Kerguelen Plateau, the most recent stock assessments and management measures for those spe-cies deemed most at risk of unsustainable impacts of fishing. The species groups discussed below are: skates (Bathyraja spp.), grenadier (Macrourus spp.), unicorn icefish (Channichthys rhinoceratus) and grey rockcod (Lepidonotothen squamifrons).

In the first assessments in 2007, midwater trawl and longline were assessed as posing a minimal risk (Bulman et al., 2007a, 2007b; Daley et al., 2007). The demersal trawl was considered at a level 2 risk on the two of the three skate species at HIMI, B. eatonii and B. murrayi, while there was also concern for the impact of the fishery on sleeper sharks (Somniosus spp.). The existence of a large MPA, along with sensitive and precautionary fish-ing practices, were considered to mediate the impacts of fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems, and high-risk, threatened, endangered and protected (TEP) species.

The precautionary approach to managing fishery impacts on by-catch species included from very early on both the calculation of by-catch limits for the main by-catch species, and move-on rules which prevent the continuation of fishing in an area where by-catch take has been high. More sophisticated assessment and man-agement measures have been introduced as knowledge has increased over time. Here we briefly summarise the research and the development of management measures for by-catch in the trawl and longline fisheries at HIMI.

The first protections for by-catch were implemented by CCAMLR in 1995, in the form of a ‘move-on rule’ aimed at reducing local depletions. Vessels were required to move 5 n miles for a period of five days if catches of any individual by-catch species exceeded 5% of the weight of any one haul (Conservation Measures (CMs) 78/XIV and 89/XIV, 1995) (Tables 1 and 2). For skates (Bathyraja spp.), C. rhinoceratus and L. squamifrons, initial conservative catch limits allow-ing for greater than 75% escapement of by-catch, were recommended by CCAMLR, and calculated using a generalised yield model (GYM) (Constable et al., 1998) based on research surveys conducted in the early 1990s at HIMI. These were implemented as a conservation measure in the 1997/98 season (Table 2). This ensured that some species protection was in place even when little was known about the stocks. These measures were revised for C. rhinoceratus after an assessment using time-series data gathered from the fishery and annual random stratified trawl surveys (Maschette and Dell, 2015), resulting in a better understanding of the productivity of the stock and an increased catch limit implemented in the conservation measure (CM 33-02, 2015) (Tables 1 and 2).

Similarly, for macrourids, the finfish by-catch group most often caught by the longline fishery, initial

conservative limits were introduced based on an analysis by van Wijk et al. (1999) on Macrourus carinatus pro-ductivity estimates from the near-by BANZARE Bank (Tables 2 and 3). Further work on the cryptic nature of the genus and the description of a new species in the Southern Ocean in 2010 (Smith et al., 2010) and at HIMI in 2015 (Dell et al., 2015) took into account the difficul-ties in distinguishing Macrourus species and suggested the catch be assessed for two morphs based on biological and spatial characteristics. The first morph containing M. caml and M. whitsoni characterised by smaller body size, higher pyloric caeca counts, and shallower depth distribution, and the second morph with M. carinatus and M. holotrachys (SC-CAMLR-XXXIV, Annex 7, paragraphs 8.17 to 8.23). These findings built of the pre-vious work and influenced changes to the conservation measures, shifting from a limit applying to four species of the same genus to two limits for species morphs shar-ing similar biological characteristics (Tables 2 and 3).

After initial catch limits were established for skates, research has continued into the biology and impacts of fishing. A study of the three species of skates taken (B. eatonii and B. murrayi from trawl fisheries, and B. irrasa in the longline fishery) updated the knowledge of the distribution and abundance of skates to the end of 2014 (Nowara et al., 2017). Results showed that overall abundance did not appear to be impacted for the two species taken by trawl, however, the abundance of B. irrasa which is taken by the longline fishery has shown a decline and only stabilised in the later years of the study (Tables 2 and 4). Frequency and numbers of sleeper shark by-catch remain too low for a reliable population study, however, the importance of these species to the functioning of a healthy ecosystem is recognised and monitoring continues within the fishery (Stevens et al., 2000; van Wijk et al., 2003).

Australian scientists have been proactive in continu-ing research into by-catch species beyond that recom-mended in the first ERAEF (Table 5). A national fishery review in 2013 recognised the low finfish by-catch at HIMI (Tuck et al., 2013) as did the 2016 ERAEF where no management response or level 2 assessment was required for skates, grenadier or rockcod (Bulman et al., 2018; Sporcic et al., 2018a, 2018b). The monitoring of ecologically sensitive habitats, fish populations and TEP species is ongoing at HIMI and the research conducted by the Fisheries and Ecosystem management branch at the AAD continues to support the ecosystem-based fisheries management of the region. These measures, employed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) within the CCAMLR framework, are considered best-practice resource management of by-catch species in the Southern Ocean (Constable, 2011; Nilsson et al., 2016). A global assessment of the health and services people expect of oceans, quantitatively assessed in an Ocean Health Index (Halpern, 2019),



Dell et al.

Tabl

e 1:

Res

earc

h on

finfis

h by

-cat

chsp

ecie

s tak

en in

the

traw

l fis

herie

s for

Pat

agon

ian

toot

hfis

h an

d m

acke

rel i

cefis

h fis

herie

s at H

IMI.

Yea

rR

efer

ence

Spec

ies

Res

earc

h ou

tcom

e

1995

Will

iam

s and

de

la

Mar

e (1

995)

-Cha

mps

ocep

halu

s gun

nari

-Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

s-D

isso

stic

hus e

legi

noid

es-L

epid

onot

othe

n sq

uam

ifron

s

Initi

al sp

ecie

s abu

ndan

ce e

stim

ates

, len

gth

and

spat

ial d

istri

butio

n ba

sed

on tr

awl s

urve

ys in

199

0,

1992

and

199

3.

1998

C

onst

able

et a

l. (1

998)

-Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

s -L

epid

onot

othe

nsq

uam

ifron

s-B

athy

raja

spp.

Initi

al su

stai

nabl

e yi

elds

for b

y-ca

tch

arou

nd H

IMI u

sing

eith

er su

rvey

dat

a or

pro

xim

ate

estim

ates

fo

r the

bio

logi

cal d

ata

usin

g th

e ge

nera

lised

yie

ld m

odel

: Bat

hyra

jasp

p.=

50–2

10 to

nnes

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

s = 6

2–87

tonn

esLe

pido

noto

then

squa

mifr

ons=

7–9

91 to

nnes

.20

12

Now

ara

et a

l. (2

012)

-C

hann

icht

hys r

hino

cera

tus

-Lep

idon

otot

hen

squa

mifr

ons

Cat

ch-p

er-u

nit-e

ffort

(CPU

E)tre

nds f

or th

e tw

o m

ain

by-c

atch

spec

ies i

n th

e H

IMI t

raw

l fis

herie

s

2015

M

asch

ette

and

Del

l (2

015)

-C

hann

icht

hys r

hino

cera

tus

Upd

ated

ass

essm

ent b

ased

on

data

from

the

2015

rand

om st

ratif

ied

traw

l sur

vey,

age

–len

gth

keys

an

d es

timat

ed sp

atia

llysp

ecifi

c bi

olog

ical

par

amet

ers,

and

estim

atio

n of

shor

t and

long

-term

su

stai

nabl

e yi

eld.

333



Tabl

e 2:

Con

serv

atio

n m

easu

res e

mpl

oyed

as a

resu

lt of

rese

arch

into

by-

catc

h at

HIM

I.

Fish

ing

seas

onC

onse

rvat

ion

mea

sure

Des

crip

tion

1995

/96

CM

78/

XIV

, CM

89/

XIV

If th

e by

-cat

ch in

any

one

hau

l of L

epid

onot

othe

n sq

uam

ifron

s, N

otot

heni

a ro

ssii,

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

s or B

athy

raja

spp.

exce

eds 5

% o

f tot

al c

atch

by

wei

ght,

the

fishi

ng v

esse

ls m

ust m

ove

to a

noth

er fi

shin

g lo

catio

n at

leas

t 5 n

mile

s dis

tant

and

not

retu

rn fo

r fiv

e da

ys.

1996

/97

CM

109

/XV

, CM

110/

XV

, C

M11

1/X

VC

atch

es n

ot to

exc

eed

50 to

nnes

for s

peci

es n

ot o

ther

wis

e sp

ecifi

ed. O

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

1997

/98

CM

132

/XV

IB

y-ca

tch

on B

athy

raja

spp.

shal

l not

exc

eed

120

tonn

es.

By-

catc

h on

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

ssha

ll no

t exc

eed

80 to

nnes

.O

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

1998

/99

CM

157

/XV

IIB

y-ca

tch

on B

athy

raja

spp.

shal

l not

exc

eed

120

tonn

es.

By-

catc

h of

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

ssha

ll no

t exc

eed

150

tonn

es.

By-

catc

h of

Lep

idon

otot

hen

squa

mifr

onss

hall

not e

xcee

d 80

tonn

es.

By-

catc

h of

fish

spec

ies n

ot sp

ecifi

ed sh

all n

ot e

xcee

d 50

tonn

es.

If th

e ca

tch

of a

ny b

y-ca

tch

spec

ies i

n an

y on

e ha

ul e

xcee

ds 2

tonn

es fi

shin

g is

exc

lude

d w

ithin

5 n

mile

s for

five

day

s.O

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

2000

/01

CM

198

/XIX

Skat

es a

nd ra

ys to

be

cons

ider

ed a

sing

le sp

ecie

s (50

tonn

e lim

it). O

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

2001

/02

CM

224

/XX

Mac

rour

ussp

p. to

con

side

red

as a

sing

le sp

ecie

s (50

tonn

e lim

it)N

on-s

peci

fied

by-c

atch

mov

e-on

-rul

e tri

gger

redu

ced

to 1

tonn

e.O

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

2002

/03

CM

33-

02 (2

002)

By-

catc

h of

skat

es a

nd ra

ys sh

all n

ot e

xcee

d 12

0 to

nnes

.B

y-ca

tch

of M

acro

urus

spp.

shal

l not

exc

eed

465

tonn

es.

Cat

ch o

f oth

er b

y-ca

tch

spec

ies n

ot sp

ecifi

cally

men

tione

d (e

.g. o

ther

ela

smob

ranc

hs) s

hall

not e

xcee

d 50

tonn

es.

If th

e ca

tch

of sp

ecifi

ed b

y-ca

tch

spec

ies i

n an

y on

e ha

ul e

xcee

ds 2

tonn

es fi

shin

g is

exc

lude

d w

ithin

5 n

mile

s for

five

day

s.Fo

r by-

catc

h sp

ecie

s not

spec

ifica

lly n

amed

, the

mov

e-on

rule

is tr

igge

red

by 1

tonn

e.O

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

2003

/04

CM

33-

02 (2

003)

Mac

rour

ussp

p. b

y-ca

tch

limit

set a

t 360

tonn

es o

ther

wis

e sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear.

2005

/06

CM

33-

02 (2

005)

Som

nios

ussp

p. n

ow in

clud

ed in

the

2 to

nne

limit

mov

e-on

rule

. Oth

erw

ise

sam

e as

pre

viou

s yea

r.20

15/1

6C

M 3

3-02

(201

5)C

atch

lim

it of

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

ssha

ll no

t exc

eed

166

3 to

nnes

.C

atch

lim

it of

Mac

rour

ussp

p. re

cogn

ised

as t

wo

grou

ps: b

y-ca

tch

of M

acro

urus

cam

land

Mac

rour

us w

hits

onis

hall

not e

xcee

d 40

9 to

nnes

; by-

catc

h of

Mac

rour

us h

olot

rach

ysan

d M

acro

urus

car

inat

ussh

all n

ot e

xcee

d 36

0 to

nnes

. Tr

igge

r wei

ght f

or m

ove-

on-r

ule

has c

hang

ed to

: 5 to

nnes

for C

hann

icht

hys r

hino

cera

tus;

3 to

nnes

for a

ll M

acro

urus

spp.

, ot

herw

ise

by-c

atch

pro

visi

ons a

re th

e sa

me

as p

rece

ding

10

year

s.20

17/1

8C

M 3

3-02

(201

7)Sa

me

as p

revi

ous y

ear(

s).



Dell et al.

Tabl

e 3:

Res

earc

h on

finf

ish

by-c

atch

spec

ies t

aken

by

the

long

line

fishe

ries a

t HIM

I.

Yea

rR

efer

ence

Spec

ies g

roup

sR

esea

rch

outc

ome

1999

van

Wijk

et a

l. (1

999)

Mac

rour

us c

arin

atus

Firs

t ass

essm

ent o

f a M

acro

urus

spec

ies f

rom

sam

ples

take

n fro

m a

traw

l sur

vey

of B

AN

ZAR

E B

ank,

with

in th

e re

gion

of t

he K

ergu

elen

pla

teau

. The

gen

eral

ised

yie

ld m

odel

(GY

M) w

as u

sed

to

dete

rmin

e th

e lo

ng-te

rm p

reca

utio

nary

yie

ld o

f thi

s spe

cies

. M

ean

dens

ities

of c

atch

rate

s wer

e ca

lcul

ated

. The

se fi

ndin

gs c

ontri

bute

d to

the

CC

AM

LR C

onse

rvat

ion

Mea

sure

33-

02 a

dopt

ed in

20

03.

2000

Con

stab

le e

t al.

(200

0)A

ll by

-cat

chPa

per o

utlin

es th

e ap

prop

riate

use

of t

he p

reca

utio

nary

app

roac

h to

fish

erie

s man

agem

ent i

n th

e co

ntex

t of C

CA

MLR

. The

nee

d fo

r a c

lear

and

ord

erly

dev

elop

men

t of a

feed

back

-man

agem

ent

fram

ewor

k fo

r any

pro

pose

d fis

herie

s und

erta

ken

by M

embe

r and

non

-Mem

ber S

tate

s with

in th

e C

CA

MLR

regi

on.

2002

van

Wijk

and

Will

iam

s (2

002)

All

by-c

atch

Rev

iew

of t

he m

onito

ring

of fi

shin

g op

erat

ions

with

resp

ect t

o by

-cat

ch. T

he p

aper

pre

sent

ed a

ca

lcul

atio

n of

tota

l by-

catc

h re

mov

als.

This

revi

ew d

eter

min

ed th

at th

e ris

k to

by-

catc

h po

pula

tions

fro

m fi

shin

g op

erat

ions

at H

IMI w

as lo

w.

2002

van

Wijk

et a

l. (2

002)

Mac

rour

us c

arin

atus

Age

rang

e of

M. c

arin

atus

was

est

imat

ed fr

om 1

56 o

tolit

h sa

mpl

es a

nd w

as fo

und

to b

e 4–

25 y

ears

. Se

xual

mat

urity

est

imat

ed fr

om M

. car

inat

usca

ught

at H

IMI i

n 20

00. L

engt

h an

d w

eigh

t re

latio

nshi

p ca

lcul

ated

from

HIM

I and

Mac

quar

ie Is

land

sam

ples

and

no

diffe

renc

e w

as fo

und

betw

een

the

resu

lts o

f eac

h re

gion

.20

03va

n W

ijk e

t al.

(200

3)M

acro

urus

car

inat

usPe

er re

view

ed v

ersi

on o

f the

CCA

MLR

wor

king

gro

up p

aper

.20

12M

cMill

an e

t al.

(201

2)M

acro

urus

cam

lD

etai

ls fi

rst r

ecor

ding

of a

four

th M

acro

urus

spec

ies i

n th

e So

uthe

rn O

cean

and

the

subs

eque

nt

mod

ifica

tions

to th

e id

entif

icat

ion

keys

.20

15D

ell e

t al.

(201

5)M

acro

urus

cam

lM

acro

urus

whi

tson

iM

acro

urus

car

inat

usM

acro

urus

hol

otra

chys

Con

firm

s the

exi

sten

ce o

f Mac

rour

us c

amlo

n K

ergu

elen

Pla

teau

, in

the

HIM

I fis

hery

. The

cry

ptic

na

ture

of s

peci

es-le

vel i

dent

ifica

tion

of th

ese

mac

rour

id sp

ecie

s is n

oted

. Von

Ber

tala

nffy

pa

ram

eter

s est

imat

ed a

nd a

sust

aina

ble

catc

h es

timat

ed u

sing

the

GY

M (4

09 to

nnes

). R

ecom

men

datio

n th

at th

e ot

her m

acro

urid

spec

ies t

hat h

ave

not h

ad th

e sa

me

subs

tant

ive

stud

y of

po

pula

tion

para

met

ers s

houl

d ha

ve a

redu

ced

catc

h lim

it.

335



Tabl

e 4:

Res

earc

h an

d m

anag

emen

t mea

sure

s for

ela

smob

ranc

hs a

t HIM

I for

bot

h tra

wl a

nd lo

nglin

e ge

ars.

Yea

rR

efer

ence

Spec

ies g

roup

sD

escr

iptio

n

1990

–199

3W

illia

ms a

nd d

e la

Mar

e (1

995)

All

by-c

atch

spec

ies

Fish

dis

tribu

tion

and

abun

danc

e su

rvey

s bef

ore

com

mer

cial

fish

ing

com

men

ced.

Ska

tes w

ere

one

of fi

ve sp

ecie

s see

n in

suffi

cien

t abu

ndan

ce to

war

rant

furth

er st

udy.

1998

Con

stab

le e

t al.

(199

8)Ba

thyr

aja

spp.

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

s, Le

pido

noto

then

squa

mifr

ons

Prel

imin

ary

stoc

k as

sess

men

t for

by-

catc

h sp

ecie

s at H

IMI u

sing

a G

YM

mod

el c

alcu

late

d ba

sic

dem

ogra

phic

par

amet

ers a

nd a

rang

e of

sust

aina

ble

catc

h lim

its fo

r:Ba

thyr

aja

spp.

= 5

0–21

0 to

nnes

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

s = 6

2–87

tonn

esLe

pido

noto

then

squa

mifr

ons=

7–9

91 to

nnes

.20

05va

n W

ijk a

nd W

illia

ms

(200

5)Ba

thyr

aja

eato

nii

Bath

yraj

a ir

rasa

Firs

t est

imat

es o

f som

e bi

olog

ical

par

amet

ers f

or B

. eat

onii

and

B.irr

asa

at H

IMI c

alcu

late

d.

2013

Now

ara

et a

l. (2

013)

Bath

yraj

a ea

toni

iBa

thyr

aja

irra

saBa

thyr

aja

mur

rayi

Skat

e ta

ggin

g fo

und

that

skat

es w

ere

reca

ptur

ed o

n av

erag

e on

ly 4

n m

iles f

rom

thei

r rel

ease

site

. Th

e lo

nges

t dis

tanc

e w

as 2

3 n

mile

s.

2017

Now

ara

et a

l. (2

017)

Bath

yraj

a ea

toni

iBa

thyr

aja

irra

saBa

thyr

aja

mur

rayi

Publ

ishe

d stu

dy o

f dis

tribu

tion

and

abun

danc

e of

the

thre

e co

mm

only

take

n sk

ate

spec

ies a

t H

IMI u

p to

201

4. It

incl

udes

est

imat

es o

f ska

tes c

augh

t on

the

line

but c

ut o

ff an

d re

turn

ed to

the

wat

er.

The

stud

y fo

und

that

cat

ch ra

tes o

f the

two

spec

ies c

omm

only

take

n in

traw

l fis

herie

s on

the

HIM

I Pla

teau

, B. e

aton

iian

d B.

mur

rayi

, wer

e in

crea

sing

in re

cent

yea

rs. H

owev

er, t

he a

vera

ge

tota

l len

gth

(TL)

of B

.eat

onii

has d

ecre

ased

ove

r the

dur

atio

n of

the

fishe

ry, s

ugge

stin

g th

at

fishi

ng m

ay b

e ha

ving

an

effe

ct, u

nles

s the

incr

ease

is d

ue to

a p

ulse

of r

ecru

itmen

t. O

ver t

he

sam

e tim

e, th

e sm

alle

r spe

cies

, B.

mur

rayi

, has

show

n an

incr

ease

in a

vera

ge T

L. O

ne p

ossi

ble

expl

anat

ion

is th

at th

ere

is a

shift

from

the

larg

er to

the

smal

ler s

peci

es, d

ue to

com

petit

ive

rele

ase,

as h

as b

een

show

n fo

r ska

te sp

ecie

s in

othe

r fis

herie

s (W

alke

r and

His

lop

1998

; Dul

vy e

t al

., 20

00).

Bath

yraj

a ir

rasa

, tak

en m

ainl

y in

the

long

line

fishe

ry, h

as sh

own

a de

clin

e in

ab

unda

nce,

stab

ilise

d in

mor

e re

cent

yea

rs.



Dell et al.

Tabl

e 5:

Ecol

ogic

al ri

sk as

sess

men

t of t

he H

IMI f

ishe

ries.

Com

paris

on o

f rec

omm

enda

tions

for f

infis

h by

-cat

ch re

quiri

ng fu

rther

eval

uatio

n fro

m th

e firs

t and

seco

nd as

sess

men

ts. C

olou

red

cells

rela

te to

the

leve

l of r

isk:

red

= hi

gh, o

rang

e =

med

ium

, gre

en =

low

.

Fish

ery

Spec

ies o

f gre

ates

t con

cern

ERA

1 ri

sks i

dent

ified

Rec

omm

enda

tion

AA

D re

spon

seER

A2

risks

re

com

men

datio

nA

AD

resp

onse

Dem

ersa

l tra

wl

Skat

esBa

thyr

aja

irra

saBa

thyr

aja

eato

nii

Bath

yraj

a m

urra

yi

Hig

h ris

k –

Low

fe

cund

ity/s

patia

l un

certa

inty

Inve

stig

ate

post

-cap

ture

su

rviv

al, c

ontin

ue d

ata

colle

ctio

nC

olle

ct re

prod

uctiv

e an

d ag

eing

dat

aD

evel

op st

rate

gy in

co

njun

ctio

n w

ith o

ther

HIM

I fis

herie

s

Com

plet

ed sp

atia

l di

strib

utio

n an

alys

is

and

abun

danc

e es

timat

e fo

r ska

te

spec

ies

Rec

alcu

late

d le

ngth

an

d m

atur

ity fo

r ska

te

spec

ies

Low

risk

pro

file.

No

leve

l 2 ri

sk is

sues

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring

Shar

ksSl

eepe

r sha

rks (

Som

nios

us sp

p.)

Hig

h ris

k –

Low

fe

cund

ity/s

patia

l un

certa

inty

Inve

stig

ate

post

-cap

ture

su

rviv

al, d

evel

op y

ield

es

timat

e

Con

tinue

to c

olle

ct

data

C

ontin

ue to

co

llect

dat

a

Gre

nadi

erM

acro

urus

hol

otra

chys

Mac

rour

us c

arin

atus

Mac

rour

us w

hits

oni

Mac

rour

us c

aml

Med

ium

risk

M

issi

ng d

ata

Spat

ial u

ncer

tain

tySp

atia

l unc

erta

inty

Impr

ove

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

po

pula

tion

ecol

ogy

Com

plet

e qu

antit

ativ

e as

sess

men

t for

sp

ecie

s whe

re

suita

ble

biol

ogic

al

data

ava

ilabl

e

Leve

l 3 q

uant

itativ

e as

sess

men

t alre

ady

in

plac

e

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring

Icef

ish

Cha

nnic

hthy

s rhi

noce

ratu

sM

ediu

m ri

sk

Spat

ial u

ncer

tain

tyIm

prov

e un

ders

tand

ing

of

popu

latio

n ec

olog

yC

ompl

ete

quan

titat

ive

asse

ssm

ent

Leve

l 3 q

uant

itativ

e as

sess

men

t alre

ady

in

plac

e

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring

Gre

y ro

ckco

d Le

pido

noto

then

squa

mifr

ons

Hig

h ris

k Lo

w p

rodu

ctiv

ity

Wid

ely

dist

ribut

ed

Impr

ove

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

po

pula

tion

ecol

ogy

Com

plet

e qu

antit

ativ

e as

sess

men

tLe

vel 3

qua

ntita

tive

asse

ssm

ent a

lread

y in

pl

ace

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring

Mid

wat

er

traw

lPo

rbea

gle

Lam

nus n

asus

Hig

h ris

k –

low

fe

cund

ity/s

patia

l un

certa

inty

Impr

ove

data

col

lect

ion

to

dete

rmin

e lo

cal p

rodu

ctiv

ity

Low

risk

pro

file.

No

leve

l 2 ri

sk is

sues

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring

(con

tinue

d)

337



recognised HIMI as one of the best-ranked EEZs in the world (http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/region-scores/scores/heard-and-mcdonald-islands).

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Fish

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Spec

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f gre

ates

t con

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ERA

1 ri

sks i

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ified

Rec

omm

enda

tion

AA

D re

spon

seER

A2

risks

re

com

men

datio

nA

AD

resp

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Long

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Skat

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Bath

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us sp

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fe

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patia

l un

certa

inty

Inve

stig

ate

post

cap

ture

su

rviv

alC

olle

ct re

prod

uctiv

e an

d ag

ing

data

Dev

elop

yie

ld e

stim

ates

Com

plet

ed sp

atia

l di

strib

utio

n an

alys

is

and

abun

danc

e es

timat

e fo

r ska

te

spec

ies

Rec

alcu

late

d le

ngth

an

d m

atur

ity fo

r ska

te

spec

ies

Low

risk

pro

file.

No

leve

l 2 ri

sk is

sues

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring

Gre

nadi

er sp

p.M

acro

urus

hol

otra

chys

Mac

rour

us c

arin

atus

Mac

rour

us w

hits

oni

Mac

rour

us c

aml

Med

ium

risk

Spat

ial u

ncer

tain

tyC

ompl

eted

qu

antit

ativ

e as

sess

men

t for

sp

ecie

s whe

re

suita

ble

biol

ogic

al

data

ava

ilabl

e

Low

risk

pro

file.

Le

vel 3

ass

essm

ent

alre

ady

in p

lace

Con

tinue

m

onito

ring



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