Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina Linn.) depredate toothfish longlines in the midnight zone

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: van den Hoff, John, Kilpatrick, Robbie, Welsford, Dirk
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science 2017
• Subjects: Research Article; Southern Ocean; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Mirounga leonina; Patagonian Toothfish; Southern Elephant Seal; Southern Elephant Seals
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5325274/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28234988; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172396

Humans have devised fishing technologies that compete with marine predators for fish resources world-wide. One such fishery for the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) has developed interactions with a range of predators, some of which are marine mammals capable of diving to extreme depths for extended periods. A deep-sea camera system deployed within a toothfish fishery operating in the Southern Ocean acquired the first-ever video footage of an extreme-diver, the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), depredating catch from longlines set at depths in excess of 1000m. The interactions recorded were non-lethal, however independent fisheries observer reports confirm elephant seal-longline interactions can be lethal. The seals behaviour of depredating catch at depth during the line soak-period differs to other surface-breathing species and thus presents a unique challenge to mitigate their by-catch. Deployments of deep-sea cameras on exploratory fishing gear prior to licencing and permit approvals would gather valuable information regarding the nature of interactions between deep diving/dwelling marine species and longline fisheries operating at bathypelagic depths. Furthermore, the positive identification by sex and age class of species interacting with commercial fisheries would assist in formulating management plans and mitigation strategies founded on species-specific life-history strategies.