H-66 



TIME-TABLE FOR BIOMASS 



The three major types of activity in the BIOMASS programme (seagoing experiments and 

 surveys; shore-based experiments and year-round observations; data analysis and modelUng) 

 have to be adjusted to each other. Observations on krill swarms and on the ecological 

 physiology of key organisms of the Antarctic ecosystem should be started immediately and 

 continued both at sea and at shore stations. Systems of data reporting and handUng should be 

 developed as soon as possible. The programme by FAO as discussed and approved by its 

 Committee on Fisheries includes the development of a statistical data base and of a collection 

 of scientific reviews on the Uving resources and their present and potential exploitation. Some 

 standardization with regard to sampling and sorting of plankton and nekton in the Southern 

 Ocean is also required at an early stage of the BIOMASS programme. 



FIG 7. Time-table for BIOMASS. 



The main implementation phase consists of at least two major international multi-ship 

 experiments as well as of a number of loosely connected experiments at sea and ashore and 

 large scale surveys at the national level. A time-table for large scale seagoing operations has not 

 only to take into account other major oceanographic activities such as FGGE but also the need 

 for sufficient time for scientific planning, logistic preparation, and development of 

 instrumentation. 



The austral summer 1980-81 has been chosen for the First International BIOMASS 

 Experiment (FIBEX)-a major multidisciplinary process-oriented study involving several vessels 

 in small scale experiments and large scale investigations of transport mechanisms and ecosystem 



