Review of the technical recommendations for the Patagonian toothfish fishery in order to minimize by-catch

The Patagonian toothfish fishery in the EEZ of Kerguelen (division 58-5-1) and Crozet (subarea 58-6) is under the management of the competent French authority, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF). The TAAF relies on advice from several scientific institutions, in particular from the National Museum of Natural History, Paris (MNHN).

Within the context of this advice, the MNHN made recommendations in order to minimize fish by-catch of fish that are not targeted by the fishery campaign of 2011-2012. The technical recommendations set by the authority were updated by taking this advice into account.

The present document aims at informing the participants about the content of these technical recommendations. Those recommendations will be assessed all along the 2011-2012 campaign and, after the results obtained with the enforcement of these measures are analyzed, some quantified targets will be defined in order to reduce the fish by-catch during the next campaign.

The allotment of quotas to the fishing vessels targeting the Patagonian toothfish in the Kerguelen EEZ (division 58-5-1) and Crozet (subarea 58-6) are based on objective criteria for assessing the vessels’ performance. These criteria comprise all together socio-economic aspects and fishery history, steps implemented by each vessel to minimize avian mortality, initiatives for preserving the environment and the capacity to fish its own quota. The results regarding the accidental mortality represent one of the main factors for assessing fishing vessels. In the future, if by-catch mitigation methods demonstrate their efficiency, the fishing vessels will also be assessed according to their ability to achieve the targets in reducing the by-catch of non targeted fish species.

The French Austral and Antarctic Territories added to the technical measures for the Patagonian toothfish fisheries in the EEZ of Kerguelen and Crozet (division 58-5-1 and subarea 58-6) some general measures (paragraph 1 above) and some specific measures (paragraph 2 above). The relevant portions of these technical recommendations are given below.

At the end of the 2011-2012 fishery campaign, the results’ analysis will allow the settings of quantified targets in terms of reducing the fish by-catch in the EEZ of Kerguelen (division 58-5-1) and Crozet (subarea 58-6).