The Challenge to Observe Antarctic Toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni ) under Fast Ice

In situ observation of Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni ) is challenging as they typically live at depths greater than 500 m, in dark and ice-covered Antarctic waters. Searching for adequate methodologies to survey Antarctic toothfish in their habitat, we tested a miniaturized Baited Remot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Main Authors: Davide Di Blasi, Simonepietro Canese, Erica Carlig, Steven J. Parker, Eva Pisano, Marino Vacchi, Laura Ghigliotti
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
BRUV
Ross Sea
video sampling
Antarctica
Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering
VM1-989
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Antarctic
McMurdo Sound
Terra Nova Bay
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctic Toothfish
Sea ice
ice covered areas
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9030255
https://doaj.org/article/1149debe2d18422080a0fba11b0a196f
Description
Summary:In situ observation of Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni ) is challenging as they typically live at depths greater than 500 m, in dark and ice-covered Antarctic waters. Searching for adequate methodologies to survey Antarctic toothfish in their habitat, we tested a miniaturized Baited Remote Underwater Video camera (BRUV), deployed through holes drilled in the sea ice in the Ross Sea region, over three field seasons. In 2015 three BRUVs were deployed at McMurdo Sound, and paired with a vertical longline sampling. In 2017, three opportunistic deployments were performed at Terra Nova Bay. In 2018 seven deployments at Terra Nova Bay provided preliminary data on the habitat preferences of the species. The design and configuration of the mini-BRUV allowed to collect high-quality video imagery of 60 Antarctic toothfish in 13 deployments from the fast sea ice. The behaviour of fish at the bait, intra-species interactions, and potential biases in individual counting were investigated, setting baselines for future studies on the abundance and distribution of Antarctic toothfish in sea-ice covered areas. This work represents the first step towards the development of protocols for non-extractive monitoring of the Antarctic toothfish in the high-Antarctica coastal shelf areas, of great value in the Ross Sea region where the largest MPA of the world has recently been established.

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