Monitoring of major by-catch species in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands fisheries

• Main Authors: Dell, J, Nowara, G, Maschette, D, Farmer, B, Woodcock, E, Ziegler, P, Welsford, D
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: Australian Antarctic Division 2019
• Subjects: Biological Sciences; Ecology; Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology); Antarctic; Heard Island; Heard; McDonald Islands; Antarc*; Icefish; Patagonian Toothfish
• Online Access: http://heardisland.antarctica.gov.au/research/kerguelen-plateau-symposium/the-kerguelen-plateau-marine-ecosystems-and-fisheries; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/134154

Conservation of biodiversity and the sustainableuse of living marine resources have been central managementgoals at Heard Island and McDonald Islands(HIMI) since Australian-managed commercial trawl,and later longline, fisheries for Patagonian toothfish( Dissostichus eleginoides ) and a commercial trawlfishery for mackerel icefish ( Champsocephalus gunnari )commenced in 1997. International high-seas fishingoccurred in the region prior to the declaration of theAustralian Fishing Zone (AFZ) and later exclusion economiczone (EEZ) around HIMI in 1979 (Duhamel andWilliams, 2011). However, following these events, thescience and management of the living marine resourcesat HIMI were initiated before the Australian fisherycommenced in 1997, a rare occurrence in national andglobal fisheries. All activities within the Southern OceanAFZ are governed by the Australian Fisheries ManagementAct (1991) , the Environment Protection andBiodiversity Conservation Act (1999) and the AntarcticMarine Living Resources Conservation Act (1981) ,which establishes the processes for applying conservationmeasures of the Commission for the Conservationof Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)under Australian law. The key principles and criticaldevelopments in precautionary by-catch managementat HIMI are summarised in the proceedings of the firstKerguelen Plateau symposium (Duhamel and Welsford,2011). The Australian by-catch policy is based aroundthe precautionary approach and risk minimisation.CCAMLR has previously identified three main stepsto minimise by-catch: (i) avoidance, (ii) mitigation and(iii) the setting of sustainable by-catch limits if mortalityis not preventable (SC-CAMLR-XXII, paragraph 5.230).There is a shared acknowledgement that by-catch shouldnot unduly impede fishing operations.