Blue-eyed shags as indicators of changes in ittora fish populations

The use of Shag’s pellets as an appropriate technique to monitor the abundance of littoral fish populations is presented for consideration of the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program Working Group. The effectiveness of the method is based on the very good agreement found between the fish species identified by the examinations of otoliths present in regurgitated cast and those regularly sampled with trammel-nets in the same area. Supporting literature for this proposal is also provided.