Tentative research topics to contribute to the research on Dissostichus mawsoni in Subarea 48.6 from 2024/25 to 2026/27; Research plan under CM21-02, paragraph 6(iii)

The exploratory longline fishery for Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in Subarea 48.6 began as a new fishery in 1997 and was reclassified as an exploratory fishery in 2000. Research fishing has been conducting jointly by Japan, South Africa and Spain joining from 2013. The existing research plan in Subarea 48.6 concentrates on fishing effort in locations where tagged fish have been released to increase the amount of data and the number of tags available for recapture. On this research proposal, our objective is to complement the ongoing research by adding additional research capacity to help achieve the desired increase in the number of tagged fish available for recapture. The main objective of this tentative research topics is to provide an improved assessment of the local biomass of toothfish, to investigate post-capture mortality rates of toothfish, to improve trophic relationships and ecosystem change, and to improve identification and reporting of important bycatch species in Subarea 48.6 from 2024/25 to 2026/27.