Parasites of the Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni Norman, 1937) (Perciformes, Nototheniidae) in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic

• Published in: Polar Research
• Main Authors: Ilya I. Gordeev, Sergey G. Sokolov
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2016
• Subjects: Toothfish; parasites; Antarctic fisheries; CCAMLR; infection; Southern Ocean; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Oceanography; GC1-1581; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Ross Sea; Amundsen Sea; Pacific; Antarc*; Antarctic Toothfish; Antarctica; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.29364; https://doaj.org/article/4f8e33a4d52047b4887192bf037a592f

The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni Norman, 1937) is one of the main target species of commercial fisheries in the Antarctic. It is an endemic and is found along the shelf of Antarctica, as well as on the slopes of seamounts, underwater elevations and islands in the sub-Antarctic. It feeds on a variety of fish and cephalopods and can be an intermediate/paratenic host of some helminthes, whose final hosts are whales, seals, large rays and sharks. This article presents new data on toothfish infection in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic. Specimens were examined during commercial longline fishing in the Ross Sea and the Amundsen Sea in January–February 2013. Fourteen species of parasites were found using standard parasitological methods and genetic analysis.