Standard Presentation (15 mins) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2022

Variability of ‘white gold’; the impact of sea surface temperature on Patagonian toothfish cohorts   (#82)

Dominic Oberle 1 , Dale Maschette 1 2 , Nicole Hill 1 , Stuart Corney 1 3
  1. Institute of Marine and Antarctic Science , University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
  2. Australia Antarctic Division , Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Kingston , TAS, Australia
  3. Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

The Heard Island and Macdonald Islands (HIMI) toothfish fishery is a highly productive and lucrative industry located in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (SO). Despite being established in 1997, numerous key life history traits are still relatively unknown. Key among these is how toothfish will respond to the rapidly changing climate of the SO. The annual recruitment of Patagonian toothfish at HIMI is known to be highly variable however the environmental factors driving this variability are not well understood. This project examines the influence of environmental factors, predominately sea surface temperature (SST), on recruitment variability of Patagonian toothfish cohorts at HIMI using two decades of random stratified trawl data and SST derived from satellite data. This research will provide insights into how the rapidly changing environmental factors of the SO may affect the HIMI toothfish fishery. Outputs will provide the industry with better information for future planning and assist management to develop strategies to ensure the economic and environmental sustainability of the fishery under a changing climate.