Proposal for a longline survey to determine toothfish population connectivity between Subareas 48.2 and 48.4

This paper presents a proposal for a longline survey connecting the currently undertaken surveys in Subarea 48.2 with the established fishery in Subarea 48.4. The research objectives include determining population connectivity between these Subareas, improving understanding of Dissostichus sp population structures in this region, and improving available data on bathymetry and associated distributions of benthic bycatch species. This proposal includes a three-year data collection and two-year data analysis plan towards the development of a stock hypothesis for the northern regions of 48.2 and southern regions of 48.4.