IS THE BYCATCH OF VULNERABLE INVERTEBRATE TAXA ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH CATCH RATES OF FISH IN THE ROSS SEA LONGLINE FISHERIES?

Protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) from significant adverse impacts caused by fishing activities requires knowledge of the distribution of those communities relative to the fishing footprint. If high fish catch rates are associated with habitats where VMEs are found, impacts from fishing are more likely to occur than if VMEs are distributed randomly with respect to fishing locations. This study used the catch of VME indicator organisms reported during the 2008/09 Ross Sea longline fisheries to look for a correlation between fish catch rate and VME indicator organism catch rate on a set-specific basis. Analysis of the data available showed that vessel and longitude were significant factors in predicting the VME indicator organism catch rate. Toothfish catch, when forced into the model, showed a very weak (r2 = 0.02) but statistically significant relationship with VME indicator organism catch. With current data there is no functional relationship between toothfish catch and VME indicator organism catch.