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By-catch in the longline fishery along the shelf slope of Kerguelen (Division 58.5.1) during the 1994/95 and 1995/96 cruises

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Document Number:
WG-FSA-96/11
Author(s):
Capdeville, D., Duhamel, G.
Agenda Item(s)
Abstract

By-catch was observed during two successive cruises of longliners fishing for Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides in approximately 500m depth along the shelf slope in the west of Kerguelen. By-catch consisted mainly of Rajidae Bathyraja spp. (85 %). The proportion of species taken in the by-catch was low (less than 0.75%) and does not represent a problem at the present level of fishing. The results indicate that longlining therefore is a highly target-specific method of fishing in the patagonian toothfish fishery.