Patagonian and Antarctic Toothfish Fisheries

By Martin Exel, Chair of the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO)

 “I work for Austral Fisheries, which harvests Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. We fish all around the Antarctic, but the Heard Island stock is particularly important for us and within Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

One of my main tasks has been protecting those species from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In the late 1990s, it was at a level no single government could keep pace with. That’s when we started COLTO[1] (the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators) to provide information about what we were seeing and to help governments control IUU fishing. Illegal fishing was like a military operation then, and its impact on the legal industry was huge.

This threat to the long-term sustainability of the fishery was one issue, bird by-catch another. IUU fleets were killing tens of thousands of seabirds a year as they used no mitigation measures. That issue helped us collaborate with NGOs, as one common goal we shared was the reduction of bird by-catch.

We addressed the first problem by sharing information between members in all relevant countries, within and outside the jurisdiction of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). We helped CCAMLR devise a catch documentation scheme using Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), observers, verified product containers and verified unloading, to ensure the legal catch was traceable.

On the by-catch side, gear manufacturers, scientists and the legal industry developed integrated weighted lines, which reduce the availability of bait to seabirds. Other measures included using bird scarers (tori lines) to prevent birds diving on baited hooks, and not throwing offal overboard. Through collaboration and sharing a common goal with the NGOs, we reduced seabird by-catch by 99%. Last year, only 36 birds were caught in gear across the entire CCAMLR zone of the southern ocean. Because birds are no longer stealing bait from hooks, catch rates per set have gone up, reducing costs.

Such significant reductions in by-catch could only be achieved by getting rid of the illegal operators. Since 1996, we have reduced IUU fishing by 97%, with illegal catches down from 32,000 tonnes a year to about 1,000 tonnes.

Toothfish stocks are recovering too. In the early years, the total allowable catch (TAC) for Heard Island was 3,800 tonnes, but dropped to 2,500 tonnes because of IUU catches, and to ensure sustainability of the stock. However, as we have addressed the IUU issue, TACs are again increasing and went up by 200 tonnes this year.

With less illegal toothfish on the market, prices have improved. Catch values are as high today as they have ever been. At the peak of illegal fishing, you could expect as little as A$3 per kilogram, whereas toothfish sold to the United States now fetches up to A$23 per kilogram. It’s a win-win.”

Vital Statistics

Species: Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) and Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides)

Fishing gear: Trawl and longline

Countries: Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Falklands, Spain, France, Japan, CCAMLR waters

Ocean: Antarctic and sub-Antarctic – specifically South Georgia, Ross Sea (both MSC-certified), Heard Island, Macquarie Island and Kerguelen/Crozet (all under assessment), Prince Edward and Marion Islands, and the EEZs of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Peru (all outside CCAMLR waters).

Fishery tonnage: 20,000 tonnes

Markets: Europe, the United States and Japan; China – a growing market.

Before intervention/s – (1996/7)				Transition	After intervention/s – Current
Economic indicator/s  (e.g. Total value of catch, or fish prices/kg)	Social indicators  (e.g. Average wage of crew; no. of vessels)	Environmental indicators    (e.g. Status of stock)	Fleet indicator  (number of vessels or licenses)	Cost of interventions  (Estimate of the financial costs)	Economic indicator/s  (e.g. Total value of catch, or fish prices/kg)	Social indicators  (e.g. Average wage of crew; no. of vessels)	Environmental indicators    (e.g. Status of stock)	Fleet indicator  (number of vessels or licenses)
A$3/kg	–	Catches: 60,000t	–	Industry: A$10-50m   Governments: A$100-500m	Price A$20-23/kg	Increased	Allowable catches: 20,000t   Reduced IUU of Patagonian toothfish: 97%   Reduced by-catch seabirds: 99%	Small reductions