WG-EMM-2024

Participants will be welcomed and information about various housekeeping details (e.g., schedule and breaks, restrooms, safety, meeting server, etc.) will be provided. WG-EMM Terms of Reference (SC-CAMLR-41, Annex 11) will be reviewed:

1. To provide advice to the Scientific Committee, its Members, and its working groups on:
    
   1. the status of krill
   2. the status and trends of dependent and related populations including the identification of information required to evaluate predator/prey/fisheries interactions and their relationships to environmental features and including the role of fish in the ecosystem
   3. environmental features and trends which may influence the abundance and distribution of harvested, dependent, related and/or depleted populations
   4. identify, recommend and coordinate research necessary to obtain information on predator/prey/fisheries interactions, particularly those involving harvested, dependent, related and/or depleted populations
   5. develop, coordinate the implementation of, and ensure continuity in the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP)
   6. spatial management with the aim of conserving marine biodiversity in the Convention Area
   7. management advice on the status of the Antarctic marine ecosystem and for the management of krill fisheries in full accordance with Convention Article II.
       
2. To provide any other advice, within its area of expertise, to the Scientific Committee and its working groups as directed by the Scientific Committee.

The Working Group will consider updates on fishing activities, catches, scientific observation, by-catch, IMAF, estimation of conversion factors, and other data collection activities on fishing vessels for use in managing the krill fishery.

The Working Group will consider updates on the biology and ecology of key components of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, including models to assess status and trends of krill, dependent, and related species, advances in krill stock assessment and the krill stock hypothesis, assessments of the spatial and temporal dynamics of krill and krill predators, updates to key life history parameters for krill and predators, and ecosystem impacts arising from environmental factors, climate change, and marine debris. Topics will include CEMP data submissions and information on other krill predator or related species.

The Working Group will formulate advice for future management of the krill fishery, taking account of advice from other Working Groups.  In particular the Working Group will discuss updates to information related to the agreed management strategy for the krill fishery that is based on three main components: 1) a regional-scale estimate of krill biomass; 2) a precautionary harvest rate (gamma) estimated using the GRYM, and; 3) a spatial allocation of catch limits to minimize the risk  to predator populations,  in  particular land-based  predators, being inadvertently or disproportionally affected by the krill fishery. Additional papers that advance krill stock assessments and management strategy evaluation are welcome.  The Working Group should consider advice relevant to existing CMs. 

The Working Group has been tasked to support the Symposium on Harmonisation of Conservation and Krill Fishery Management Initiatives in the Antarctic Peninsula Region. The Steering Committee for the Symposium framed the desired outcome of the Symposium as a draft set of Conservation Measures that could deliver a harmonised approach to management in Subarea 48.1 (SC-CAMLR-42 Annex 14). The Steering Committee requested that the Working Group articulate a set of principles that can guide development of harmonisation scenarios, and consider what a “staged approach” means with respect to harmonisation. In this work, the Working Group should also discuss scenarios for implementing the management framework for regulating the krill fishery and establishing the D1MPA in Subarea 48.1, and a framework for data collection and monitoring that supports implementation of the fishery management framework and MPA evaluation. Therefore, the focus topic will consider papers and presentations related to the principles of harmonisation, scientific outcomes of alternative spatial and fishery management scenarios, tools for assessing such scenarios, and the identification of data or other requirements for implementing alternative harmonisation scenarios. In particular, the Working Group is requested to advise on the scientific rationales and trade-offs for alternative approaches to align krill fishery management units and the D1MPA zones relative to activities permitted in each zone, and other spatial management approaches (e.g., voluntary restricted zones and other time-area closure proposals). 

The Working Group has initiated a review to enhance the CEMP to help meet the objectives of the Convention. Last year, the Scientific Committee endorsed work to initiate this review via the creation of four intersessional teams. The teams were tasked to review current CEMP data holding and begin analyses of CEMP holdings, consider current and potential sentinel species, consider enhancements for at-sea data collection and use of fishing vessels to conduct monitoring studies, and consider how the use of environmental data could be better leveraged. Ultimately, a major requirement of the CEMP is for communicating ecosystem status to managers for use in decision making. Discussion on formats and requirements for such communication are necessary. 

The Working Group will review developments on spatial management issues, including updates to CCAMLR MPA proposals, RMPs, and other spatial management approaches. Given the focus on the D1MPA in the Focus Topic above, items tabled here will reflect other CCAMLR MPAs, MPA proposals, RMPs, planning domains, and other spatial management approaches.