Nine years of tag-recapture in CCAMLR Statistical Subarea 48.3 – Part I: General data characterisation and analysis

This paper presents an analysis of data gained from a nine-year tagging programme of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in Subarea 48.3. It describes the tagging procedure, the information gained about biology, growth and movement of Patagonian toothfish, and explains the overlap of tagging length distributions with those of the landed catch and survey data. The characterisation of tag recapture data from Subarea 48.3 shows that the tagging programme is successful in providing substantial information for the stock assessment.