Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T15:26:15.722Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Monitoring Antarctic toothfish in McMurdo Sound to evaluate the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2019

S.J. Parker ,
S. Mormede ,
S.M. Hanchet ,
A. Devries ,
S. Canese  and
L. Ghigliotti
S.J. Parker*
Affiliation:
NIWA, PO Box 893, Nelson, 7010, New Zealand
S. Mormede
Affiliation:
NIWA, Private Bag 14901, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand
S.M. Hanchet
Affiliation:
NIWA, PO Box 893, Nelson, 7010, New Zealand
A. Devries
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
S. Canese
Affiliation:
Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research – BIOHBT Department (ISPRA), Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, Rome 00144, Italy
L. Ghigliotti
Affiliation:
IAS, National Research Council of Italy, via de Marini 6, Genoa, 16149, Italy
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We developed a random, stratified, vertical longline survey in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, to compare the local age and size composition, diet and reproductive status of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) with those observed from a vessel-based survey of the southern Ross Sea shelf that includes a McMurdo Sound stratum. Results indicated that southern McMurdo Sound toothfish were larger and older than those a short distance away in northern McMurdo Sound. These data, in addition to recoveries of tagged fish, suggest that the large toothfish in McMurdo Sound may have limited mixing with the rest of the population. The potential effects of climate change and fishing in northern areas on toothfish abundance in McMurdo Sound will depend on the mechanism of toothfish recruitment to McMurdo Sound. Understanding the ecological relationships between McMurdo Sound toothfish and the larger population is required to predict these impacts. Furthermore, because toothfish predators (type C killer whales Orcinus orca, Weddell seals Leptonychotes weddellii) are abundant in the south-west margins of the Ross Sea, it is important to monitor toothfish in McMurdo Sound as part of the monitoring programme for the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area.

Keywords

Dissostichus mawsonieffects of fishinglongline surveysMPApopulation heterogeneitysea ice
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 195 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainley, D.G. & Siniff, D.B. 2009. The importance of Antarctic toothfish as prey of Weddell seals in the Ross Sea: a review. Antarctic Science, 21, 317–327.Google Scholar
Ainley, D.G., Ballard, G., Eastman, J.T., Evans, C.W., Nur, N. & Parkinson, C.L. 2017. Changed prevalence, not absence, explains toothfish status in McMurdo Sound. Antarctic Science, 29, 10.1017/S0954102016000584.Google Scholar
Ainley, D.G., Ballard, G. & Olmastroni, S. 2009. An apparent decrease in the prevalence of ‘Ross Sea killer whales’ in the southern Ross Sea. Aquatic Mammals, 35, 335–347.Google Scholar
Ainley, D.G., Nur, N., Eastman, J.T., Ballard, G., Parkinson, C.L., Evans, C.W. & DeVries, A.L. 2013. Decadal trends in abundance, size and condition of Antarctic toothfish in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, 1972–2011. Fish and Fisheries, 14, 343–363.Google Scholar
Anderson, R.O. & Neumann, R.M. 1996. Length, weight, and associated structural indices. In Murphy, B.R. & Willis, D.W., eds. Fisheries techniques, 2nd ed. Bethseda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 447–482.Google Scholar
Ashford, J., Dinniman, M. & Brooks, C. 2017. Physical–biological interactions influencing large toothfish over the Ross Sea shelf. Antarctic Science, 29, 10.1017/S0954102017000359Google Scholar
Burchett, M.S., DeVries, A.L. & Briggs, A.J. 1984. Age determination and growth of Dissostichus mawsoni (Norman 1937) (Pisces, Nototheniidae) from McMurdo Sound (Antarctica). Cybium, 8, 27–31.Google Scholar
Calhaem, I. & Christoffel, D.A. 1969. Some observations of the feeding habits of a Weddell seal, and measurements of its prey, Dissostichus mawsoni, at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 3, 181–190.Google Scholar
CCAMLR 2017. Exploratory fishery for Dissostichus spp. in Subarea 88.1. Hobart, TAS: CCAMLR. Retrieved from www.ccamlr.org/en/publications/fishery-reports.Google Scholar
Denechaud, C. 2017. Diet of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the southern Ross Sea region, Antarctica. Bibliographic Report, Master BEST-ALI 2016/17. Saint-Denis, La Réunion: Université de La Réunion, 39 pp.Google Scholar
DeVries, A.L. & Eastman, J.T. 1998. Brief review of the biology of Dissostichus mawsoni. CCAMLR Document WG-FSA-98/49. Hobart, TAS: CCAMLR.Google Scholar
DeVries, A.L., Ainley, D.A. & Ballard, G. 1998. Decline of the Antarctic toothfish and its predators in McMurdo sound and the southern Ross Sea, and recommendations for restoration. CCAMLR Document WG-EMM-08/21. Hobart, TAS: CCAMLR, 20 pp.Google Scholar
Doonan, I.J. & Rasmussen, S. 2015. Random Station User Manual, RandomStation v1.00-2015-11-29 (rev. 170). Auckland, New Zealand: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, 47 pp.Google Scholar
Eastman, J.T. 1985a. The evolution of neutrally buoyant notothenioid fishes: their specializations and potential interactions in the Antarctic marine food web. In Siegfried, W.R., Condy, P.R. & Laws, R.M., eds. Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Berlin: Springer, 430–436.Google Scholar
Eastman, J.T. 1985b. Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces, Nototheniidae) as food for other fishes in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 4, 155–160.Google Scholar
Eastman, J.T. 1993. Antarctic fish biology: evolution in a unique environment. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 322 pp.Google Scholar
Eastman, J.T. & DeVries, A.L. 2000. Aspects of body size and gonadal histology in the Antarctic toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni, from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 23, 189–195.Google Scholar
Fenaughty, J.M., Eastman, J.T. & Sidell, B.D. 2008. Biological implications of low condition factor ‘axe handle’ specimens of the Antarctic toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni, from the Ross Sea. Antarctic Science, 20, 537–551.Google Scholar
Fuiman, L.A., Davis, R.W. & Williams, T.M. 2002. Behaviour of midwater fishes under the Antarctic ice: observations by a predator. Marine Biology, 140, 815–822.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S.M., Mormede, S. & Dunn, A. 2010. Distribution and relative abundance of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) on the Ross Sea shelf. CCAMLR Science, 17, 33–51.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S.M., Dunn, A., Parker, S.J., Horn, P.L., Stevens, D.W. & Mormede, S. 2015a. The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni): biology, ecology, and life history in the Ross Sea region. Hydrobiologia, 761, 397–414.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S.M., Dunn, A., Parker, S.J., Horn, P.L., Stevens, D.W. & Mormede, S. 2016. Response to the opinion paper by Ainley et al. Hydrobiologia, 10.1007/s10750-015-2607-4. Hydrobiologia, 771, 10.1007/s10750-016-2691-0.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S.M., Mormede, S., Parker, S.J., Large, K., Dunn, A. & Sharp, B. 2017. Monitoring Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) recruitment in the southern Ross Sea. Document WG-FSA-17/57. Hobart, TAS: CCAMLR.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S.M., Sainsbury, K., Butterworth, D., Darby, C., Bizikova, V., Godøa, O.R., Ichiia, T., et al. 2015b. CCAMLR's precautionary approach to management focusing on Ross Sea toothfish fishery. Antarctic Science, 27, 10.1017/S095410201400087X.Google Scholar
Horn, P. L., Sutton, C.P. & DeVries, A. L. 2003. Evidence to support the annual formation of growth zones in otoliths of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni). CCAMLR Science, 10, 125–138.Google Scholar
Kennicutt, M.C., Chown, S.L., Cassano, J.J., Liggett, D., Peck, L.S., Massom, R., Rintoul, S.R., et al. 2015. A roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science for the next two decades and beyond. Antarctic Science, 27, 10.1017/S0954102014000674.Google Scholar
Kimura, D. 1980. Likelihood methods for the Von Bertalanffy growth curve. Fishery Bulletin, 77, 765–776.Google Scholar
Mormede, S., Dunn, A. & Hanchet, S. M. 2014. Assessment models for Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Ross Sea for the years 1997/98 to 2012/13. CCAMLR Science, 21, 39–62.Google Scholar
Near, T.J., Russo, S.E., Jones, C.D. & DeVries, A.L. 2003. Ontogenetic shift in buoyancy and habitat in the Antarctic toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni (Perciformes: Nototheniidae). Polar Biology, 26, 124–128.Google Scholar
Parker, S.J. & Grimes, P.J. 2010. Length and age at spawning of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Ross Sea. CCAMLR Science, 17, 53–73.Google Scholar
Parker, S.J., Mormede, S., DeVries, A., Hanchet, S.M. & Eisert, R. 2016. Have Antarctic toothfish returned to McMurdo Sound? Antarctic Science, 28, 29–34.Google Scholar
Pinkas, L., Oliphant, M.S. & Iverson, I.L. 1971. Food habits study. Fishery Bulletin, 152, 10.Google Scholar
Pitman, R.L., Fearnbach, H. & Durban, J.W. 2018. Abundance and population status of Ross Sea killer whales (Orcinus orca, type C) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: evidence for impact by commercial fishing? Polar Biology, 41, 10.1007/s00300-017-2239-4.Google Scholar
SC-CAMLR. 2017. The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area Research and Monitoring Plan. Document SC-CAMLR XXXVI-XX. Hobart, TAS: CCAMLR.Google Scholar
Stevens, D.W., Dunn, M.R., Pinkerton, M.H. & Forman, J.S. 2014. Diet of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) from the continental slope and oceanic features of the Ross Sea region, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 26, 502–512.Google Scholar
Stevens, D., DiBlasi, D. & Parker, S.J. 2016. Results of the first winter longline survey to the northern Ross Sea region to investigate toothfish reproductive life history. Document WG-FSA-16/37. Hobart, TAS: CCAMLR.Google Scholar
Stirling, I. 1969. Distribution and abundance of the Weddell seal in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 3, 10.1080/00288330.1969.9515288.Google Scholar
Smith, W.O., Ainley, D.G. & Cattaneo-Vietti, R. 2007. Trophic interactions within the Ross Sea continental shelf ecosystem. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B362, 10.1098/rstb.2006.1956.Google Scholar
Wisz, M.S., Pottier, J., Kissling, W.D., Pellissier, L., Lenoir, J., Damgaard, C.F., et al. 2013. The role of biotic interactions in shaping distributions and realised assemblages of species: implications for species distribution modelling. Biological Reviews, 88, 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2012.00235.x.Google Scholar