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  • This dataset contains the results from satellite tracking the movements of Adelie Penguins (Pygoscellis adeliae) from Edmonson Point in the Terra Nova Bay region, Antarctica. By the use of satellite fixes the foraging locations of the penguins were determined. Monitoring took place between 1994 and 2001. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 2205 (ASAC_2205), 'Adelie penguin research and monitoring in support of the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Project'.

  • This model was produced as part of Australian Antarctic Science project 4037 - Experimental krill biology: Response of krill to environmental change - The experimental krill research project is designed to focus on obtaining life history information of use in managing the krill fishery - the largest Antarctic fishery. In particular, the project will concentrate on studies into impacts of climate change on key aspects of krill biology and ecology. This metadata record is to reference the paper that describes the model. There is no archived data output from this data product. Taken from the abstract of the referenced paper: Estimates of productivity of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, are dependent on accurate models of growth and reproduction. Incorrect growth models, specifically those giving unrealistically high production, could lead to over-exploitation of the krill population if those models are used in setting catch limits. Here we review available approaches to modelling productivity and note that existing models do not account for the interactions between growth and reproduction and variable environmental conditions. We develop a new energetics moult-cycle (EMC) model which combines energetics and the constraints on growth of the moult-cycle. This model flexibly accounts for regional, inter- and intra-annual variation in temperature, food supply, and day length. The EMC model provides results consistent with the general expectations for krill growth in length and mass, including having thin krill, as well as providing insights into the effects that increasing temperature may have on growth and reproduction. We recommend that this new model be incorporated into assessments of catch limits for Antarctic krill.

  • Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2722 See the link below for public details on this project. Public The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) aims to manage the harvesting of living resources in the Southern Ocean in a manner that is sustainable to the harvested species, dependent species and ecosystem processes. The krill fishery is one of the major fisheries in the Southern Ocean. Application of CCAMLR's policy in management of the krill fishery requires sound scientific information on both krill and krill-dependent (predator) species. This program aims to provide the scientific information on krill predators required by CCAMLR for sustainable management of the krill fishery through research, survey and monitoring activities. Taken from the 2009-2010 Progress Report: Project objectives: The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) aims to manage the harvesting of living resources in the Southern Ocean in a manner that is sustainable to the harvested species, dependent species and ecosystem processes. The krill fishery is one of the major fisheries in the Southern Ocean. Application of CCAMLR's policy to management of the krill fishery requires sound scientific information on both krill and krill-dependent (predator) species. This program of work aims broadly to provide the scientific information on krill predators required by CCAMLR for sustainable management of the krill fishery in the Australian Antarctic Territory against a background of other impacts such as climate change, and compliments separate SOE projects aimed at krill itself. This program is related to the previous multi-year project number 2205 (Adelie penguin research and monitoring in support of the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Project (CEMP)) but recognises and addresses recent developments in CCAMLR that include (i) the current development of a krill management procedure, (ii) a review of outputs from past CEMP work and recognition of the likely need to re-design CEMP to meet the needs of the new krill management procedure, and (iii) the need to estimate predator consumption of krill as part of the krill management procedure. Although the previous project 2205 focussed on Adelie penguins in the Mawson region exclusively, this new program will include consideration of additional species and regions to allow improvements in both ecosystem monitoring and estimation of krill consumption. The program was approved in 2005 as a multi-year ASAC project with four major sub-programs or projects which have strong methodological and practical cross-linkages and overlap. The projects and their objectives are: (1) Development of cost-effective methods for surveying and monitoring predator populations at the large spatial scales required by CCAMLR, (2) Estimation of the abundance of krill predators in CCAMLR Statistical Areas 58.4.1 and 58.4.2 (which together span the width of the Australian Antarctic Territory), (3) Assessment of spatio-temporal variability in predator performance parameters to enable the design of an effective and efficient monitoring program, and to examine metapopulation dynamics (4) Continuation of selected aspects of project 2205 to (i) improve estimates and understanding of temporal variability and population dynamics and (ii) continue the application of CEMP. We propose to continue these projects in 2008/09 and commence some additional projects. Projects (1) and (2) will be expanded beyond Adelie penguins to include some species of flying seabirds. Additional work related to the AAD's management of the Rookery Islands Specially Protected Area is proposed which would be undertaken in collaboration with the AADs environmental policy section, and aims to assess the status of the Southern Giant Petrel. It would be undertaken in conjunction with planned surveys of Adelie penguins and some flying seabird species in the Rookery Islands (project 2). Details of the work will be outlined in a separate proposal submitted by the AAD environmental policy section. A additional project is related to an IPY approved project focussing on Adelie penguins as indicators in the Southern Ocean. The objective of this new project is to co-ordinate some aspects of the work of Adelie penguin researchers around Antarctica to improve understanding of broad-scale processes in the Southern Ocean. A planning meeting in May 2007 had to be postponed until September 2007 and consequently it is not yet possible to outline the details of this project. We will provide project details as soon as possible after the September 2007 meeting and request that a late submission be accepted for this project. Progress against objectives: (1) Implementation and further development of cost-effective methods for surveying and monitoring predator populations at the large spatial scales required by CCAMLR. Camera technology has been developed and is now being used to monitor Adelie penguin populations on several islands in the Mawson and Davis areas. Methods for cost-effective development of regional population size have also been developed and applied in the Mawson and Davis areas. Flying seabirds have been incorporated in the monitoring program by developing and implementing monitoring methods of snow petrel on Bechervaise Island. (2) Estimation of the abundance of krill predators in CCAMLR Statistical Areas 58.4.1 and 58.4.2 (which together span the width of the Australian Antarctic Territory). Aerial surveys were undertaken of Adelie penguin populations in the Vestfold Hills and Rauers Islands. Reconnaissance surveys of Adelie penguin distribution were conducted by the CASA aircraft between Casey and Mirny. Ground surveys of Adelie penguin populations were undertaken in the Mawson region (3) Assessment of spatio-temporal variability in predator performance parameters to enable the design of an effective and efficient monitoring program, and to examine metapopulation dynamics. Population surveys and the use of cameras at multiple sites in the Mawson area are providing data on Adelie penguin meta-population dynamics. (4) Continuation of selected aspects of project 2205 to (i) improve estimates and understanding of temporal variability and population dynamics and (ii) continue the application of CEMP. Measurement of Adelie penguin population size, foraging trip duration, breeding success and survival at Bechervaise Island continued in 2009/10 (5) Assessment of the winter foraging distribution of Adelie penguins. Satellite trackers were successfully deployed on 15 fledgling Adelie penguins.

  • This dataset contains the results from satellite tracking the movements of Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) from Magnetic Island near Davis Station, Antarctica. By the use of satellite fixes the foraging locations of the penguins were determined. Monitoring occurred during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 summer seasons. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 2205 (ASAC_2205), 'Adelie penguin research and monitoring in support of the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Project'. Further work in the Davis area was completed under other projects.

  • Australian fishing vessels involved in exploratory fishing for Antarctic toothfish in East Antarctica under the auspices of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) collected data required under their exploratory fishing permit. Conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) loggers were attached to bottom longlines sets to collect data while fishing for Antarctic toothfish in Antarctic waters. The data relates to Objective 2 of the research work required: Collect and utilise environmental data to inform spatial management approaches for the conservation of toothfish, bycatch species and representative areas of benthic biodiversity (CCAMLR 2016). Data were collected on two fishing vessels during the austral summers (December to February) of 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 in CCAMLR Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2. The data were collected with DST CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth Recorder) from Star-Oddi (Conductivity: 13-50 mS/cm, maximum depth: 2400 m). Files were then downloaded with SeaStar and are available in the original data format. Recordings were made at 5 or 10 second intervals for the duration of up to around 24h, recording data throughout the water column while setting the longline and then while stationary on the sea floor. Each deployment has data on time, temperature (degrees C), salinity (psu), conductivity (mS/cm) and depth (m), and is linked to geographical coordinates. Number of deployments: 2015/16: 34 2016/17: 31 2017/18: 75 CCAMLR (2016) Joint research proposal for the Dissostichus spp. exploratory fishery in East Antarctica (Divisions 58.4.1 and 58.4.2) by Australia, France, Japan, Republic of Korea and Spain. Delegations of Australia, France, Japan, Republic of Korea and Spain. Report to Fish Stock Assessment Working Group, WG-FSA-16/29, CCAMLR, Hobart, Australia. Dates and times in the data files are recorded in UTC. Further information is provided in a pdf document in the download file.

  • CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) Statistical Reporting Subareas. GIS data representing the boundary (line) and centroid (point with the area name as an attribute) of each area. The southern boundary of the areas adjacent to Antarctica is the coastline of Antarctica. The coastline has not been included with this data. This dataset is no longer maintained by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre as the CCAMLR Statistical Reporting Subarea boundaries are now available from CCAMLR's Online GIS (see the Related URL).

  • 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. Target Outcomes 1. Assessment of the vulnerability of benthic habitats and species to damage by demersal fishing practices, based on field observations and experiments. 2. Assessment of risks from demersal fishing to the sustainability of benthic habitats based on field work and knowledge from the literature on recovery of different types of benthic species and habitats. 3. Modifications, as needed, to either fishery management or fishery practices in the HIMI and/or other Southern Ocean fisheries resulting in long-term sustainability of benthic habitats. 4. Improved knowledge of the distribution and species composition of marine benthic ecosystems in the Australian EEZ. 5. Video and still camera technologies that can be easily used by AFMA Observers and marine research institutions (both domestic and international) investigating the interactions of demersal gears (trawls, longlines and traps) with benthic environments. Notes from the Word document written by Kirrily Moore: The original core of the database (ie the taxa tree) was copied from a similar taxonomic database at CSIRO Marine Research in late 2005. At the time I was just starting to sort the benthic samples obtained in the cruise Southern Champion 26 (SC26) which formed the main part of the assessment of the conservation values of the HIMI Conservation Zones. There wasn't a database immediately available and applicable to the species or taxa I was likely to encounter so we (Tim Lamb and I) sourced the taxa tree and all the taxonomic hierarchy from CSIRO as a starting point. Tim then designed the forms and tables for the cruise, haul and sample details based on the existing FishLog database. There are many species in the taxa tree which are not Antarctic or sub-Antarctic, they were simply already in the taxa tree when we obtained the sanctioned copy. The database is a work in progress which has developed as Tim has responded to my requests for changes. The demands of the database have changed in the last few months as we've been working through the backlog of invertebrate taxa in the freezer. It has extended from the original cruise (SC26) to many cruises and thus now includes pelagic invertebrates more commonly associated with fishing gear (rather than purely benthic taxa collected in beam trawls and benthic sleds). The download file includes an access database and a word document detailing some information about the database. A folder containing photos that needs to be associated with the database is also available, but as it is over 3 GB in size, it is not available as a download, but will be available on request to the AADC (once this dataset is publicly available). Taken from the 2009-2010 Progress Report: Project objectives: 1/ 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. 2/ 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. 3/ 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. 4/ To recommend mitigation strategies by avoidance or gear modification, where identified to be needed, and practical guidelines to minimise fishing impacts on benthic communities. Progress against objectives: 1/ Progress against objective 1 is well advanced. Underwater camera system units have been developed, refined and are currently deployed on commercial vessels fishing in the subantarctic. 2/ Progress against objective 2 is well advanced. Underwater camera system units, beam trawls and benthic sleds have been used to assess the types and distribution of benthic habitats in the sub-Antarctic and in high latitude areas of the Southern Ocean. Theoretical and empirical analyses of the resistance of key habitat-forming benthic invertebrates to impact from demersal fishing gear is ongoing. This will form the basis of an assessment of the vulnerability of the various habitat types to demersal fishing operations. 3/ Progress against objective 3 is ongoing. Theoretical analysis of the resilience of key habitat-forming benthic invertebrates to impact from varying levels of demersal fishing pressure is ongoing. Analysis of current fishing effort and future fishing scenarios is ongoing. The risk of fishing to the sustainability of benthic communities in these areas will be assessed from their vulnerability to impact, their resilience or ability to recovery from impact, and from current and potential future patterns of demersal fishing. 3/ Progress against objective 4 is ongoing. Analysis of in-situ video footage of commercial and simulated demersal fishing operations captured with the underwater camera systems, with reference to factors such as depth, habitat type, wind, sea-state, current and gear configuration is revealing strategies for mitigating and minimising the impact of demersal fishing.

  • Twenty three juvenile (8-14 months of age) southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina L.) from Macquarie Island were tracked during 1993 and 1995. Migratory tracks and ocean areas with concentrated activity, presumed to be foraging grounds, were established from location data gathered by attached geolocation time depth recorders. The seals ranged widely (811-3258 km) and foraging activity centred on oceanographic frontal systems, especially the Antarctic Polar Front and bathymetric features such as the Campbell Plateau region. The seals spent 58.6% of their sea time within managed fishery areas while the remainder was spent on the high seas, an area of unregulated fishing. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) areas 58.4.1, 88.2 and especially 88.1 were important and distant foraging areas for these juvenile elephant seals. From fisheries records, diet and the foraging ecology studies of the seals there appears to be little, if any, overlap or conflict between the seals and commercial fishing operations within the regulated commercial areas. However, attention is drawn to the possibility of future interactions if Southern Ocean fisheries expand or new ones commence. Furthermore... The dive duration of 16 underyearling (6-12 months old) southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina during their second trip to sea was investigated using geolocating time depth recorders. Underyearling seals had a lesser diving ability, with respect to duration and depth, than adult southern elephant seals. Individual underyearlings dived for average durations of up to 20.3 minutes and depths up to 416m compared to durations and depths of 36.9 minutes and 589m, respectively for adults. Dive duration was positively related to their body mass at departure, indicating that smaller seals were limited to shorter dive durations, perhaps as a result of their lesser aerobic capacity. All seals often exceeded their theoretical aerobic dive limit (average of 22.1 plus/minus 18.1%). The number of dives exceeding the theoretical aerobic dive limit was not related to mass, suggesting that factors other than mass, such as foraging location or prey availability, may have been responsible for the differences in diving effort. Foraging ability, indicated by the ability of the seals to follow vertically moving prey, was positively related to seal mass, indicating that small mass restricted foraging ability. The shorter dive durations of the smaller seals inferred that they had shallower dive depths in which to search for prey, thus restricting foraging ability. Although foraging ability was restricted by size, foraging success was found to be inversely related to mass, the smaller seals gaining a higher proportion of blubber than larger seals during their foraging trips. Thus, despite smaller seals being restricted to shallower depths and shorter durations, their foraging success was not affected. The fields in this dataset are: Area Perimeter ID Latitude Longitude Time Percent CCAMLR EEZ Season Seal Sex Age (months) Days at Sea Range (km) Bearing (degrees) Sea Surface Temperatures (degrees C) Foraging Areas Departure Mass (kg) At sea mass gain (kg) Rate of mass gain (kg) Survival estimates Length (m) Girth (m) Dives Divers per hour Total Time Diving % trip diving Dive Duration Surface Time Theoretical Aerobic Dive Limit Drift