138 
diagram (Figure 1). In brief, sampling was carried 
out within the Western Deep Water Trawl Fishery 
(WDWTF), a management zone bounded in the 
north at 20°S by the 114°E meridian (North West 
Cape) and in the south at ~35°S by the 115°08'E 
meridian (Cape Leeuwin). Trawling operations 
involved the use of a variety of nets, although 
typically these nets had a large headline length (> 
35.5 m) and heavy rubber-bobbin ground gear. 
Details of the net and trawl configuration used in 
the research survey are provided elsewhere 
(Williams et al., submitted). A random-stratified 
sampling design was used for the survey based on 
six depth strata of 200 m within eight latitudinal 
strata of 100 nautical miles each. In addition, one 
trawl (#12) sampled in a depth range of 1460-1500+ 
m. Sixty five of the 95 stations were random- 
stratified; the remainder were targeted on fish 
schools detected by echosounder. About 90,000 
fishes were caught during the research vessel 
survey, with the number of fish taken in the 
commercial catches unknown. About 90% of the 
fish species were recorded from survey operations. 
Aboard the research vessel, fish specimens 
retained for museum collections were sorted on ice 
and placed in 10% formalin solution at the earliest 
opportunity. On commercial vessels specimens 
were frozen and preserved later in the laboratory. 
Most of the material retained is deposited in the 
I.S.R. Munro Ichthyological Collection at the 
CSIRO Division of Fisheries Laboratories in Hobart 
(CSIRO), at the Australian Museum in Sydney 
(AMS), and the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 
(NMV). A few voucher specimens are also lodged 
at the Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM). 
Numerical abundances were calculated from 
numbers and weights, and standardised by the 
area swept and duration of trawls. Abundance 
data relate only to the 65 random stratified stations 
from the research vessel survey. 
As the purpose of this paper is to present 
information on demersal fishes, pelagic species 
from the following taxa were excluded from the 
checklist: Serrivomeridae, Nemichthyidae, 
Eurypharyngidae, Bathylagidae, Opisthoproctidae, 
Gonostomatidae, Stemoptychidae, Astronesthidae, 
Melanostomiidae, Malacosteidae, Chauliodontidae, 
Stomiidae, Idiacanthidae, Myctophidae, 
Notosudidae, Paralepididae, Omosudidae, 
Alepisauridae, Evermannellidae, Scopelarchidae, 
Rondeletiidae, Ogcocephalidae (only Coelophrys 
sp.), Ceratoidea, Macrouridae (only 
Hymenocephalus species, Mesobius species, 
Squalogadus modificus), Melamphaidae, 
Anoplogastridae, Carangidae, Bramidae, 
Chiasmodontidae, Gempylidae (only Lepidocybium 
flavobrunneum, Ruvettus pretiosus, Thyrsitoides 
marleyi) and Trichiuridae. 
A. Williams, P.R. Last, M.F. Gomon, J.R. Paxton 
Taxonomic identifications 
As noted by Paxton et al. (1989), the taxonomic 
understanding of Australian fishes has only just 
begun for some groups. This is especially true for 
those occurring in the continental slope region. 
Many of the species encountered in this study are 
poorly known; indeed many are recorded from 
Australian waters here for the first time and many 
of these are yet to be described. A continuity in 
field identifications was ensured by the 
preparation of identification sheets for each taxon 
and by updating them on a station by station basis. 
Our family classification follows Nelson (1994). 
The order of reliability of identification of each 
species was provided using a five level system 
presently in use at the CSIRO fish collection. It 
takes into consideration the taxonomic experience 
of the identifier, their knowledge of the group 
considered, and the amount of effort given to 
making the identification. In this scheme 
identifications below level 2 are not considered 
fully reliable; an explanation is given in Table 2. 
Table 2 Criteria for assessing the reliability of 
identifications based on the taxonomic 
expertise of the identifier and their intentions 
as used in the checklist. 
Level 1: Highly reliable identification - Specimen 
identified by (a) an internationally recognised authority 
of the group, or (b) a specialist that is presently studying 
or has reviewed the group in the Australian region. 
Level 2: Identification made with high degree of confidence 
at all levels - Specimen identified by a trained identifier 
who had prior knowledge of the group in the Australian 
region or used available literature to identify the 
specimen. 
Level 3: Identification made with high confidence to genus 
but less so to species - Specimen identified by (a) a trained 
identifier who was confident of its generic placement 
but did not substantiate their species identification using 
the literature, or (b) a trained identifier who used the 
literature but still could not make a positive 
identification to species, or (c) an untrained identifier 
who used most of the available literature to make the 
identification. 
Level 4: Identification made with limited confidence - 
Specimen identified by (a) a trained identifier who was 
confident of its family placement but unsure of generic 
or species identifications (no literature used apart from 
illustrations), or (b) an untrained identifier who had/ 
used limited literature to make the identification. 
Level 5: Identification superficial - Specimen identified by 
(a) a trained identifier who is uncertain of the family 
placement of the species (cataloguing identification 
only), (b) an untrained identifier using, at best, figures 
in a guide, or (c) where the status and expertise of the 
identifier is unknown. 
