Description
Summary:Progress Code: completed Statement: Please see the provided reference for more details. Three or four of the five catches taken per day were sampled. For each catch, at least 20 randomly selected fish were measured for standard and total length, sex, gonad maturity and stomach content. A total of 3434 fish were measured, and both day and night catches were sampled. Scales and otoliths for further use in ageing the fish were collected when time allowed. This dataset contains the results from an investigation of the fishery off Macquarie Island. The data were obtained from the Austral Leader, an 85m long stern trawler, between December 1994 and February 1995. The aim of the fishing voyage was to determine whether sufficient catches could be made to enable dedicated voyages to the area to be profitable, and if time allowed to search for other fishable areas. The Austral Leader had been granted a licence by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to fish in Commonwealth controlled waters within the Australian EEZ around Macquarie Island. A previous voyage in November-December 1994 had made a preliminary survey of the grounds surrounding the island. 59 tows were made in the vicinity of the island, and all but 10 were made in an area west of the island. No worthwhile catches were made in any other areas. The main species caught were the Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) and Rats Tails (Macrourus carinatus). Basic biological data were collected on the catches where possible including: standard and total length, sex, gonad maturity, and stomach contents. A Microsoft Access database containing data from this cruise, plus several others is available for download from the URL given below. The Entry ID's of the other metadata records also related to this data are: AADC-00038 AADC-00068 AADC-00073 AADC-00075 AADC-00080 AADC-00082 c88_data The fields in this dataset are: Cruises Date Location Latitude Longitude Species Gear Length Weight Sex Gonad Eye Otolith Stomach Lifestage Family