《)》

课程作业
报告专家：PROF. ZHU GUOPING & JENNIVER DEVINE
课 程 号：0311415
任课老师：朱国平
学 院：海洋科学学院
题 目：SUMMARY REPORT
姓 名：GIBRIL SESAY
学 号：MO230201954
专 业：FISHERIES RESOURCES
日 期：APRIL, 25 2024
Management of the Ross Sea Region Fishery

The Ross Sea is one of the least disturbed marine environments in the world. Unlike most of the
world’s oceans, the Ross Sea has remained relatively free from human impacts, and because it is
so productive, it is home to an incredible array of animals.

The Ross Sea also provides foraging areas for a wide range of New Zealand seabirds. This
region is important to New Zealand due to the connectivity of species between New Zealand and
the Ross Sea, the proximity of the Ross Sea to New Zealand and the influence of the Southern
Ocean on our climate.

MPAs are an important tool for biodiversity conservation with benefits for fisheries
management. Since MPA planning commenced, CCAMLR has identified the Ross Sea as a key
region in a representative system of Southern Ocean MPAs due to its scientific and biological
value. The original joint US-NZ MPA proposed in 2012 was designed to meet an array of
ecological and scientific objectives while also allowing for an economically viable toothfish
fishery in the Ross Sea. Since 2012, Ross Sea region MPA proponents have continued to
negotiate with all CCAMLR Members, taking into account their concerns, which are reflected in
the current proposal

The MPA protects rare and vulnerable benthic species (living near or on the bottom of the sea),
representative habitats and areas of importance for ecosystem integrity. The MPA is also
designed to support scientific research. A research and monitoring plan has been developed to
guide research relating to the MPA.

Scientific research is based around the MPA objectives, including:

 Threat mitigation – to protect the region’s ecosystems from threats

 Representativeness – to protect an adequate proportion of the marine environments in the
region
 Scientific reference – the MPA encompasses areas with little or no fishing so we can
understand how intact marine ecosystems work.
The fishery is managed differently depending on the region and specific environmental
protection and fishery management objectives in the region.

A bioregionalization process was undertaken to identify where areas of similar characteristics

were, and how they could be grouped into bioregions.

Compiling the spatial distributions of key species (polygons) in the Ross Sea area (termed
Bioregionalization) is helped to design a spatial management framework for the Ross Sea region
and was a primary input into the design of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA).

In 2016, a Joint NZ-US proposal for a Ross Sea Marine Protected Area was adopted by
CCAMLR to provide protection for key ecosystem components, promote collaborative research
in the region, monitor for potential ecosystem effects of fishing, and provide scientific reference
areas to disentangle effects due to fishing from effects due to climate change.

The MPA consists for three zones:

1. a general protection zone:

i. Balleny Islands, Ross Sea shelf and parts of the Ross Sea slope
ii. Northern seamounts
iii. Scott seamount

2. a special (toothfish) research zone (SRZ)

3. a krill research zone (KRZ).

The area covers a total of 1.55 million km2, making it the largest in the world and includes the
area under the Ross Ice Shelf.

Under the MPA Conservation Measure, the Ross Sea Shelf is closed to commercial fishing,
while areas previously closed to fishing (north and eastern Ross Sea Region) are open for fishing
during the normal fishing season.
Separate catch limits are used to control fishing in the North (north of 70° South), Slope, and
Special Research Zone.

The Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (shaded peach), the area in the Ross Sea region that is of
fishable depths (red polygons filled with grey shading), and the four main regions of the Ross
Sea region (North, Balleny Islands, Slope, Shelf). Areas open to fishing are red polygons outside
the MPA.

General aim of this work was to fill some of current gaps in our knowledge on the Stock
structure and movement patterns of the Antarctic toothfish and to contribute to an improved
management of the species by CCAMLR. The research was focused on the population of the
Ross Sea region, main area where the Antarctic toothfish is commercially fished.

In this area, most of the available information is derived from the fisheries, and few fishing
independent data are available. This translates into seasonally biased information, mainly relative
to the austral summer months, and spatially biased information, mostly from ice-free areas of the
continental slope.

The survey, built on the Winter Survey 2016, was carried out on board of the New Zealand
longline fishing vessel FV Janas. The possibility to collect sample during the austral winter,
provided with the unique opportunity to investigate and document the Antarctic toothfish stock
structure and movement

pattern.

Survey in 88.2AB North: 2015-2016

First data that was collected in this area, 18 sets were made in 4 research blocks, mainly larger
fishes, all were mature, stomach were mainly empty and the toothfish were similar to fish in 88.
1C. Most were between 15-30 years. During the winter survey, 40-50 eggs were placed in the
column and the water has a salinity density gradient.

From the winter survey in June 2016, it found spawning fish, but June was too early, few fish
were running in ripe a condition (females), males were in later stages, likely arrived first to
spawning areas. Caught tagged individuals; tagged on slope. This confirmed the hypothesis
about the spawning movement. Eggs were in top 200m of water column. Stock structure of
toothfish in the 2nd winter survey used different models.

The vessels and fishing gears standardization used include: New Zealand flagged longline vessel
FV San Aotea 11 has been used from 2012; Autoline fishing gear-same configuration used;
standardized soak time 28 +/- 6hr; Monitored baiting success; Standardization protocol for
vertical lines; Survey timing -after commercial fishery, but has been consistent. No evidence of
systematic to the slight shift in timing.

Standardized data collection:

Biological sampling of toothfish and all other species caught, Biological data collection, otoliths,
stomach contents, muscle and liver tissue, fin clips, Echosounder- calibrated 38kHz Sumrad
ES8o system, Environmental – CTD, air samples, under water mooning, Argo floats,
Photographic – documentations of practices, Video autonomous underwaters cameras, small fish
traps, Marine mammal observation, VME, Scavengmg ampphupods, Tagging – Antarctic
toothfish, skates, collection of organisms for research institutes.

Tooth cohorts were able to tracked as they moved to the slope and seamounts, they have been
used to indicate year class strength in Antarctic toothfish stock assessments since 2015. An
important signing of changes in toothfish recruitment. Track abundance, size, age and variability
in McMurdo Sound and Terra Nova Bay.

Spatial explicit model was used to evaluate the impact of Ross Sea region marine protected area
for Antarctic toothfish.

First observation of a skate egg case nursery in the Ross Sea

Areas of importance to Southern Ocean skates are poorly defined. Here, they identify a
deepwater skate egg case nursery in a discrete location at ~460 m depth off Cape Adare in the
Southern Ocean. This is the first confirmed observation of a skate nursery area in the Ross Sea
and only the second observation for the Southern Ocean. The morphology and size of the egg
cases were consistent with the genus Bathyraja and most likely belong to the Bathyraja sp.
(cf. eatonii). The nursery occurs within the “no take” General Protection Zone of the Ross Sea
region marine protected area, where commercial fishing is prohibited.

Skates are an important by-catch of bottom longline fisheries targeting toothfish

(Dissostichus spp.) in the Southern Ocean (Faure et al., 2023; Finucci et al., 2023; Finucci &
Moore, 2022; Moore & Parker, 2021). Two genera of skates (Amblyraja and Bathyraja) are
known to occur in the Southern Ocean, comprising at least nine described species: Antarctic
starry skate Amblyraja georgiana (Norman 1938), Arctic skate Amblyraja hyperborea (Collett
1879), whiteleg skate Amblyraja taaf (Merisner 1987), Antarctic dark-mouth Skate Bathyraja
arctowskii (Dollo 1904), Eaton's skate Bathyraja eatonii (Günther 1876), Kerguelen sandpaper
skate Bathyraja irrasa (Hureau & Ozouf-Costaz 1980), McCain's skate Bathyraja
maccaini (Springer 1971), dark-belly skate Bathyraja meridionalis (Stehmann 1987), and
Murray's skate Bathyraja murrayi (Günther 1880). Despite their presence as fisheries by-catch,
there is generally limited information about the life history and habitat use of Southern Ocean
skates. There is at least one undescribed species, Bathyraja sp. (cf. eatonii), a large skate
suspected to occur within the Ross Sea region (A. Stewart, Te Papa, pers. comm.).

Skates are oviparous, with females laying large eggs where embryos develop over prolonged
incubations lasting from months to years (Hoff, 2009). Eggs are often deposited in confined
areas and at high densities (Hoff, 2010; Hunt et al., 2011). Egg case nursery habitats are
considered “essential fish habitats,” necessary for the long-term survival of species
(Heithaus, 2007). Several criteria have been defined to identify egg case nurseries (Martins et
al., 2018), including (1) high densities of egg cases in contact with benthic or stationary
materials; (2) adults using an area or habitat to lay egg cases repeatedly over multiple years; and
(3) newborn or YOY individuals leaving the area promptly after hatching.

Data collection from this study.

Bycatch focal species: skates (for ageing).

Remind crew to look for tags on skates, remember to take photos of the tags in the fish, before
removing and focus on recaptures including thorns (or freezing whole skate). Inject OTC at an
oblique angle into the muscle of the wings near the tagging site but no closer than 20mm or on
the left/right side of the tail base blue rectangle. Avoid tagging and inject near body cavity, place
1 tag in muscle of each wing on eyed side (green ovals), and tag straight down to anchor the tag
between fin rays.

Skate maturity ogives: use to estimates length when 50% of the skates are mature.

Two fishing seasons were best deemed to be a year of the skate: 2008/2009, 2009/2010 skate
tagging protocol developed.

Base on the ageing data to estimates growth, it indicated fast growth. Rate of growth (K) is fast,
faster than expected given habitat and size.

Otoliths are rocks and not bones, we find otoliths in the inner ear, Brzia, Weberizo ossicles and
swim bladder. Skate and shark don’t have otoliths. The most commonly used structures for
ageing fish in the Ross Sea are Otoliths, thorns and vertebrae.

Key aspects of the research may include:

Discovery and Documentation: The researchers likely employed various methodologies, such
as underwater surveys or remote sensing techniques, to identify and document the presence of
the skate egg case nursery in the Ross Sea. Precise GPS coordinates and detailed descriptions of
the nursery site would have been essential for subsequent scientific analysis and conservation
efforts.

Ecological Context: Understanding the ecological context of the nursery was crucial for
interpreting its significance within the broader marine ecosystem of the Ross Sea. These
involved assessments of water temperature, depth, currents, seabed composition, and other
environmental factors influencing skate habitat preferences and reproductive behavior.

Species Identification: Identification of the skate species utilizing the egg case nursery was
essential for understanding their life history strategies and conservation needs. Different skate
species exhibit varying reproductive behaviors and habitat requirements, necessitating species-
specific research and management approaches.
Reproductive Biology: Research on the reproductive biology of skates within the Ross Sea
nursery would likely involve investigations into egg-laying behavior, egg development,
incubation periods, and factors influencing reproductive success.

In summary, the management of the Ross Sea region fishery has demonstrated a critical
commitment to sustainable practices amidst the unique ecological context of the area.
Additionally, the groundbreaking discovery of a skate egg case nursery in the Ross Sea marks a
significant advancement in our understanding of the region's biodiversity and underscores the
importance of continued research and conservation efforts in this pristine marine environment .