Review of management boundaries (SSRU’s) and biological parameters used for the assessment of D. mawsoni in Subarea 88

This paper provides a review of the boundaries of the small scale research units used to manage the exploratory fishery for D. mawsoni in Subarea 88.1. In determining appropriate SSRU boundaries we considered the physical and geographical features of the Subarea including the impact of sea ice on fishing practices, as well as the distribution and abundance of the target and bycatch species (rattails and skates). We recommend that the northern SSRU boundary (at 65°S) remain in place but that the other boundaries of the other four SSRUs are changed to reflect the underlying bathymetry, species distributions and ice conditions.