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The 1983 Antarctic Commission and Scientific Committee 

 Meetings — The second meetings of the Commission and the 

 Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic 

 Marine Living Resources were held in Hobart, Australia, 29 

 August to 9 September 1983. To help prepare for these 

 meetings, on 16-17 February 1983, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, in consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission, 

 the Department of State, and the National Science Foundation, 

 convened an ad hoc group of U.S. Antarctic scientists to 

 discuss scientific and technical matters bearing upon issues 

 to be considered during the Commission and Scientific Committee 

 meetings. The report resulting from the scientific working 

 group meeting was prepared by a Commission contractor (see 

 Chapter II of the Commission's 1982 Annual Report) and provided 

 to the U.S. delegation to assist in preparing for the 29 

 August to 9 September meetings in Hobart. 



During its second meeting, the Scientific Committee was 

 able to resolve outstanding issues concerning Rules of 

 Procedure and began consideration of a number of matters 

 bearing upon implementation of the Convention. Discussions 

 focused on three general topics: information and data 

 requirements; research requirements; and management goals. 



After initial discussion, an ad hoc working group was 

 constituted to facilitate consideration of data requirements 

 and related issues. The working group's efforts led to 

 general agreement on: forms and procedures for determining 

 the nature, location, and accessibility of existing data 

 from past fishing and scientific activities in the Convention 

 Area; the types of catch, effort, and related biological 

 information that would be desirable to collect during future 

 fishing operations in order to permit the types of stock 

 assessments that ultimately may be necessary; and the types 

 of data from 1982-83 and 1983-84 fishing operations that 

 should be compiled and distributed prior to the next Scientific 

 Committee meeting. It was not possible to reach agreement 

 on the precise types of fishery and related information that 

 would be required to most effectively meet Convention 

 objectives or how such data should be reported and synthesized 

 to best meet the needs of the Scientific Committee and 

 Commission. It was agreed that the ad hoc group would meet 

 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 11 to 15 June 1984 to continue 

 its work. 



Discussion of research requirements and management 

 goals covered a broad range of topics including: the need 

 to assess the status of certain exploited fish stocks; the 

 possible use of indicator species to detect and monitor the 



