Stock status and population assessment of the Antarctic starry skate (Amblyraja georgiana) in Subarea 48.3

The Antarctic starry skate (Amblyraja georgiana), is currently listed as “Data Deficient” by IUCN (Endicott & Kyne 2009) and is one of the main by-catch species in the longline fishery for Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) around South Georgia in the Southern Ocean. Information is lacking particularly in relation to catches, population trends, and taxonomic uncertainty. Using ten years of tag-recapture data collected around South Georgia, a comprehensive analysis of data on taxonomic identification, stock status and assessment for the Antarctic starry skate around South Georgia and Shag Rocks was undertaken. The outcomes of this study narrowed some of the existing knowledge gaps, address the uncertainties around species differentiation, characterise tag-recapture data from Antarctic starry skates, and provide a preliminary stock assessment, showing that the current level of by-catch exploitation rate of Antarctic starry skates is likely low at around 1% of the estimated biomass.