Progress report on the joint research for Dissostichus spp. in Subarea 88.3 by the Republic of Korea and New Zealand and notification of research in 2018/19

The scientific survey was conducted by the Greenstar (KOR) in the research block 883_3–883_5. Due to extreme ice conditions covering the southern part of 88.3, the Janas (NZL) was not able to conduct its part of the survey. The total catch of D. mawsoni was 38,856 kg comprised of 1,380 individuals. The CPUE for Dissostichus mawsoni indicated regional differences among the research blocks. While CPUE in blocks 883_3 and 883_4 showed similar values of 0.1369 and 0.1466 kg/hook, research block 883_5 was extremely low showing 0.0273 kg/hook. Tagging rate and tag overlap in Subarea 88.3 were 5.2 fish per tonne and 72%. The length frequency of D. mawsoni exhibited a bimodal distribution with modes near 70 cm and 150cm. Female maturity stage showed a regional pattern, with the stage 2 accounting for 47.8%, 28.1%, and 25.6% in the areas of 883_3, 883_4, and 883_5, respectively. To get biological information of D. mawsoni, otolith, stomach contents, gonad and muscle were collected. Water temperature and salinity were measured at 6 locations during the survey in Subarea 88.3. Notification of research for the agreed 2018-19 fixed-effort survey as detailed in WG-FSA-17/40 is included with thesame catch limit of 235 t as in 2017-18.