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Acoustic Tagging and Tracking of Sea Otters Killed in 



Gill and Trammel Nets 



(California Department of Fish and Game) 



It is not known what percentage of sea otters caught 

 and killed in gill or trammel nets eventually are found 

 cast up on beaches. This might be determined by tracking 

 acoustic pingers (tags) attached to the sea otter carcasses 

 taken from gill and trammel nets. To examine this possibility, 

 the Commission provided the funds for a directional hydrophone, 

 receiver, and acoustic pingers for use in a California 

 Department of Fish and Game study. The study results 

 will be used in conjunction with the data from the 

 salvage/necropsy programs described above to better 

 estimate the numbers of sea otters being caught and killed 

 in gill and trammel net fisheries. 



Development of a Long-Range Plan to Detect and Monitor the 

 Possible Effects of Krill Harvest on Whales, Seals, and Other 

 Components of the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem 

 (J. L. Bengtson, Ph.D.) 



Existing data and ongoing research and monitoring programs 

 in the Southern Ocean, the ocean surrounding Antarctica, are 

 not adequate to predict, detect, or monitor effects of 

 harvesting and mineral resource activities on Antarctic 

 krill and species which feed on krill. Moreover, it would 

 be prohibitively costly and probably impossible to monitor 

 each species and population that might be affected. The 

 contractor is compiling and evaluating available information 

 on the structure and dynamics of the Southern Ocean ecosystem 

 to determine if any species and populations might be useful 

 indicators of the second-order effects of krill harvesting 

 and how they might be used for this purpose. The report, to 

 be completed in the summer of 1984, will be used to help 

 structure domestic and international research programs 

 to better provide the information needed to conserve 

 living resources in a manner consistent with the Convention 

 on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. 



Preparations for the 1984 Meetings of the Commission and 

 Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic 

 Marine Living Resources 

 (K. A. Green Hammond, Ph.D., Ecosystem Modeling, Inc.) 



The third meetings of the Commission and Scientific 

 Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living 

 Resources will be held in Hobart, Tasmania, in September 



