Preliminary assessment of mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari in Subarea 48.3 based on the 2017 groundfish survey

A stratified bootstrap of icefish catch density based on the UK 2017 demersal fish survey catch rate data indicated a biomass of 91 531 tonnes (lower one sided 5th percentile: 47 424 tonnes) within Statistical Subarea 48.3. Projections for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons applying the CCAMLR harvest control rule lead to catch limits (TAC) of 4 733 tonnes for 2017/18 and 3 269 tonnes for 2018/19.