Global Change Master Directory (GCMD)

Data Sets

Services / Tools

Ancillary Descriptions

Are you using a browser that doesn't support JavaScript or have you disabled JavaScript?

If you have disabled JavaScript, you must re-enable JavaScript to use this page.
Or you can view this record using the Text Only Format.

Impacts of trawling on benthic habitats in the subantarctic and high Antarctic - 2009-2010 fieldwork

Entry ID: ASAC_1189_200910020

[ Get Data ]
[ Update this Record ]

Summary

Abstract: This project aims to assess the vulnerability of and risks to habitats in Australian fisheries in the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)/Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) of the Southern Ocean to impacts by different demersal gears - trawl, longline and traps. The project which is a collaborative initiative between the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), the Australian Fisheries Management ... Authority (AFMA), industry and research partners, and substantially funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, was developed in order to resolve outstanding questions relating to the potential impacts and sustainability of demersal fishing practices in the AFZ at Heard Island and the McDonald Islands (HIMI). It will also help resolve similar outstanding questions for other fisheries in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in which Australian industry participates and provide technology for use in other fisheries to address similar questions.

The proposed project will assess the degree to which demersal gears interact with and possibly damage benthic habitats. It will also assess the degree to which these habitats might be damaged within the AFZ in the HIMI region. The project is not intended to estimate rates of recovery of benthic habitats following damage by demersal gears. However, information from the literature on rates of recovery of different benthic species and habitats will be used to assess the risks of long-term sustainability of these habitats.

Objectives
To develop deep sea camera technologies that can be easily deployed during fishing operations, to facilitate widespread observations of demersal fishing activities (trawl, longline and trap) and their interactions with benthic environments.

To assess the vulnerability of benthic communities in Sub-Antarctic (Australian AFZ) and high latitude areas of the Southern Ocean (Australian EEZ) to demersal fishing using trawls, long-lines or traps, using video and still camera technologies.

To assess the risk of demersal fishing to long-term sustainability of benthic communities in these areas, based on the assessment of vulnerability and information from the literature on potential recovery of benthic species and habitats.

To recommend mitigation strategies by avoidance or gear modification, where identified to be needed, and practical guidelines to minimise fishing impacts on benthic communities.

Field work:
Field work for this project is well advanced. Sampling of benthic habitats was conducted off East Antarctica from the AA in the summer season of 2009/10. Sampling yielded biological samples and camera footage over a number of sites spread across a large section of the East Antarctic coast and across a range of benthic habitats, however sampling was limited by the extent of ice and number of ship days (10) allocated (the project was originally planned for 16 ship days and later in the summer, when ice was predicted to be less extensive). The camera units are currently deployed on commercial vessels fishing the sub-Antarctic. The close of the 2010 commercial fishing season in September 2010 will mark the conclusion of field activities for this project.

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Description: Request point for the data

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: -42.9

S: -68.6

E: 147.6

W: 76.6

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2009-12-05

Stop Date: 2010-01-23

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA

OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

Science Keywords

BIOSPHERE > AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC HABITAT

OCEANS > AQUATIC SCIENCES > FISHERIES

ISO Topic Category

BIOTA

OCEANS

Platform

R/V AA > R/V Aurora Australis
SHIPS

Instrument

BOTTOM TRAWL
DEMERSAL TRAWL

Access Constraints These data are not publicly available.

Use Constraints This data set conforms to the PICCCBY Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=ASAC_118... when using these data.

Ancillary Keywords

Invertebrates

Fishing

Trawl

Cameras

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Data Center

Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia

Data Center URL: http://data.aad.gov.au

Data Center Personnel
Name: DATA OFFICER AADC Phone: +61 3 6232 3244 Fax: +61 3 6232 3351 Email: metadata at aad.gov.au Contact Address: Australian Antarctic Division 203 Channel Highway City: Kingston Province or State: Tasmania Postal Code: 7050 Country: Australia