line fisheries in the Convention Area investigate and, as soon as 

 possible, introduce safety measures to minimize the incidental 

 mortality of seabirds in such fisheries. 



Krill Research and Monitoring — The total catch of 

 Antarctic krill in the Convention Area in 1988/1989 was 382,205 

 metric tons, up slightly from the 1987/1988 catch of 370,663 

 metric tons. Most of the catch was from the South Georgia area 

 (381,988 metric tons) and was taken by Soviet fishing vessels 

 (301,498 metric tons). During the 1989 meetings of the 

 Commission and Scientific Committee, Soviet representatives 

 announced that plans were being developed to expand the krill 

 fishery in the Southern Ocean. 



It is unlikely that the present level of krill fishing in 

 the Southern Ocean has had any adverse effects on either krill 

 stocks or krill predators, except possibly in the area around 

 South Georgia Island where much of the krill fishing has been 

 focused. Because of the possible local effects, the Commission 

 and Scientific Committee considered imposing a precautionary 

 limit on the krill catch in the South Georgia area. There were 

 differing views as to the need for such a precautionary measure 

 and what would be an appropriate limit. To provide a better 

 basis for considering the matter in 1990, the Commission 

 requested that the Scientific Committee consider and provide the 

 best possible estimate of biomass and potential yield of krill in 

 the South Georgia area and advice on measures that may be needed 

 to protect krill-dependent predators and young and larval fish in 

 the South Georgia area. 



It was agreed that the Scientific Committee's Krill Working 

 Group would meet in Leningrad from 27 August-3 September 1990 to 

 continue consideration of measures needed to better assess, 

 monitor, and conserve Antarctic krill stocks. It also was agreed 

 that all krill fishing vessels should record catch and effort 

 data on a haul-by-haul basis; haul-by-haul data should be 

 analyzed after a three-year trial basis to determine whether it 

 can provide a useful index of krill abundance; and acoustic data 

 should be compiled and analyzed to better determine swarm size, 

 number of swarms per unit area, and inter-swarm distance within 

 areas. 



Squid Fishing — An exploratory squid fishery was initiated 

 in the Convention Area in 1988/1989. The fishing was done by two 

 Japanese and one Taiwanese squid jigging vessels operating in 

 statistical subarea 48.3. A total catch of eight metric tons was 

 reported. During discussion of this and related information, the 

 Scientific Committee noted that the species involved, Martialia 

 hyadesi , probably was not present in the Convention Area at 

 predictable times and places, and in sufficient quantities to 

 constitute an important commercial resource and that there 



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