Results from the WG-ASAM intersessional e-group on Krill biomass estimates from acoustic surveys

Based on the direction of WG-ASAM during 2021, an e-group was established to develop a method to provide estimates of krill biomass for use in the GRYM and for development of a management strategy for krill. Krill biomass densities at a variety of spatial scales are presented for consideration by WG-EMM in 2021. The mean biomass density ranges from a low of 45.54 gm m^-2 for the time series averaged over the time since adoption of CM5107 to a high of 64.34 gm m^-2 when the time series is averaged over just the last 3 yrs of sampling. Importantly embedded within this time series is a low frequency quasi-decadal variability with several periods when krill biomass density is much lower than the longterm mean of ~52 gm m^-2.