PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF MACKEREL ICEFISH, CHAMPSOCEPHALUS GUNNARI, IN THE VICINITY OF HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS (DIVISION 58.5.2), BASED ON A SURVEY IN APRIL 2009, USING THE GENERALISED YIELD MODEL

A survey of mackerel icefish, Champsocephalus gunnari, was undertaken in Division 58.5.2 in the vicinity of Heard Island in April 2009 to provide the information for an assessment of short-term annual yield in the 2009/2010 CCAMLR season. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of yield for the area of Division 58.5.2 to the west of 79o 20’ E using standard CCAMLR methods. The strong year class detected in the last two years’ surveys is now fully recruited as the 3+ cohort, and dominates the population.