-83- 



potentially economically important species -- Notothenia 

 gibberif rons , N. coriiceps , N. neglecta , N. rossi marmorata, 

 Dissostichus maws on i , D. eleginoides ^ and Pleuragramma 

 antarctictim . Members of the genus Notothenia are found in 

 the Scotia Arc from South Georgia to the South Shetland 

 Islands and around the continent to Bouvet, Marion, 

 Kerguelen, and Heard Islands. Nearly all Notothenia are 

 bottom dwellers along the eastern coast continental shelf. 

 Another genus, Trematomus , is also found near the eastern 

 coast. Except for two species at South Georgia, Trematomus 

 does not inhabit other inland waters. The genus 

 Dissostichus includes two pelagic species (only one of 

 which breeds in Antarctica) , weighing from 20 to 40 kg, and 

 distributed on an almost circumpolar pattern. A final 

 important genus, Pleuragramma includes a single truly 

 pelagic circumpolar species. 



Members of the Chanichthyidal family include the white- 

 blooded or ice fishes of which seventeen species and ten 

 genera are known to inhabit the whole Antarctic region. 

 Of the eleven species found coas tally, two are circumpolar 

 and the others are limited to eastern Antarctica. Pelagic 

 and/or demersal modes of life characterize the family. 

 Species with potential commercial importance are Champsocephalus 

 gunnari, Channichthys rhinoceratus , Pseudochaenichthys 

 georgianus , Chaenocephalus sp . , and Chronodraco sp. 



2. Movements 



Two basic movement patterns appear to characterize 

 Antarctic fish: spawning and seasonal feeding migrations. 

 Spawning migrations have been observed in a few species, and 

 negative evidence suggests that the phenomenon may be more 

 common than thought (Everson, 1977) . Observing that only 

 sexually mature fish are seasonally caught in localized 

 areas, Keysner et al. (1974) described a May N. rossi 

 migration from feeding grounds north of Kerguelen to 

 spawning areas south of Kerguelen. This migration is 

 thought to be consistent with the prevailing current. 

 Similarly, catch rates of Champsocephalus gunnari at South 

 Georgia clearly indicate the species moves inshore to 

 spawn since Olsen (1955) caught sexually mature adults only 

 in these areas at certain times of the year. This pattern 

 has recently been confirmed through research by the British 

 Antarctic Survey (Everson, 1977) , and a similar migration 

 has been described for C. rhinoceratus (Everson, 1977). 



Seasonal feeding migrations have been reported for 

 species endemic to the Antarctic, as well as for some which 

 breed north of the Convergence but feed in Antarctic waters. 

 Among endemic species (namely Notothenia rossi , N. corriceps . 



