An update on the development of a management procedure for the toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) resource in the Prince Edward Islands vicinity

Two Operating Models (OMs) reflecting an “Optimistic” and a “Pessimistic” current status for the toothfish resource in the Prince Edward Islands region that were developed last year are updated given further data. These models are for use for initial trials of candidate Management Procedures (MPs) which could provide future TAC recommendations for this resource. Deterministic projections under a constant future catch suggest that the two scenarios will only be qualitatively distinguished in the short-term by an increase in the mean length of longline-caught toothfish over the next five years for the “Pessimistic”, but not the “Optimistic” case. Accordingly the performance of a simple MP control rule based upon recent trends in both CPUE and this mean length is investigated. This MP is able to secure a faster increase in the TAC for the “Optimistic” case, and some recovery in abundance for the “Pessimistic” scenario, but neither is as appreciable as one might wish. Suggestions for future work are made.