Habitat use by Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides Smitt, 1898) on the Kerguelen Plateau around Heard Island and the McDonald Islands ...

• Main Authors: Welsford, Dirk C., Candy, Steven G., Lamb, Timothy D., Nowara, Gabrielle B., Constable, Andrew J., Williams, Richard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Cybium 2011
• Subjects: Dissostichus eleginoides, Heard Island, Kerguelen Plateau, Southern Ocean; Antarctic; Heard; Heard Island; Kerguelen; Kerguelen Islands; McDonald Islands; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Patagonian Toothfish
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26028/cybium/2011-35sp-013; http://sfi-cybium.fr/fr/habitat-use-patagonian-toothfish-dissostichus-eleginoides-smitt-1898-kerguelen-plateau-around-heard

The Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) is one of the largest and most ubiquitous benthopelagic predatory fish found in the sub-Antarctic. This species supports the largest single species scalefish fishery in the southern ocean, and the largest fishery for toothfish occurs on the Kerguelen Plateau, with landings of >5 000 t.yr-1 from the French EEZ around Kerguelen Islands and 2 500 t.yr-1 from the Australian EEZ around Heard Island and the McDonald Islands in 2009. This study provides a synthesis drawn from a range of methods including otolith and tagging analyses, as well as population data collected from fisheries operations and research surveys from across the Kerguelen Plateau, to develop preliminary hypotheses about the Patagonian toothfish lifecycle and the importance of different habitats for different life stage of this species. It is evident that toothfish use a very broad range of habitats across the Kerguelen Plateau throughout their lifespan, from the epipelagic as planktonic ...