This report summarises the timing, depth, and location of fishing together with the biological aspects and catch of Antarctic toothfish up to an including the 2014 season. In 2014, the Ross Sea slope SSRUs were not constrained by sea ice and catches were evenly distributed across the three SSRUs. As in recent years, the remaining catches came mainly from SSRUs 88.1C, 88.1J, and 88.2H. Unstandardised Antarctic toothfish CPUE in the Ross Sea and Subarea 88.2 fisheries have fluctuated over the past 12 years with a slight decline in the past two years.
Length frequency distributions of Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea fishery have continued to be stable in the North and variable on the Shelf. The strong mode of smaller (90–120 cm TL) toothfish present in the Slope fishery from 2010–2013 was not present in the 2014 season, and the size composition in 2014 was more similar to that in the early period of the fishery – the reason for this is unclear. There has been a slight reduction in mean age in SSRU 88.2H, but the data are very uncertain due to the paucity of otolith readings and it is recommended that additional otolith readings for this area are given a high priority. There was a marked increase in the proportion of males in the Ross Sea North fishery from 2001 to 2009, but this has decreased slightly since then. There has been little change in sex ratio in the other areas.