A survey of fish stocks in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands region in the 1999/2000 season and a comparison of the abundances of selected species with those obtained in previous surveys

A random stratified trawl survey was conducted in May 2000 to assess the abundance of icefish, Champsocephalus gunnari, and juvenile pre-recruit toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides, on the Heard Island Plateau and Shell Bank. Abundances and length density plots of these species plus two principal bycatch species Lepidonotothen squamifrons and Channichthys rhinoceratus are given for each stratum. A total of seven surveys have been conducted in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands region since 1990 and results from each survey are presented so that inter-annual comparisons can be made. Abundance of D. eleginoides, L. squamifrons and C. rhinoceratus in each stratum are relatively steady, varying by a factor of 2-3 between years, but C. gunnari abundance can vary by a factor of about 20 between years. This is the result of occasional strong year classes entering the fishery and dominating the population for about 2 years before disappearing, as has been documented in other locations.