Oral Presentation Australian Society for Fish Biology & Australian Freshwater Sciences Society Conference 2026

Exploration of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) movement patterns within the Sub-Antarctic region of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) (145588)

Cara Masere 1 2 , Philippe Ziegler 1 , Ryan Leadbetter 1 , Dale Maschette 1 2
  1. Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, Australia
  2. Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

Mark-recapture research programs based on sighting histories of uniquely identifiable individuals is a common approach to assist in improving understanding of a variety of biological and demographic parameters in animal populations including population size, movement patterns, growth rates, and estimates of mortality (Otis et al. 1978, Pine et al. 2011). Tagging programs have been undertaken by commercial fisheries vessels within the EEZs of both Kerguelen Island (KI) and Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) since 2007 and 1998, respectively. Since this time, more than 200,000 Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) have been tagged from trawl, trap, pot and longline vessels. This paper provides a broad summary of the temporal and spatial patterns in toothfish tagging releases and recaptures across the Kerguelen Plateau with the intent of informing and updating our understanding of toothfish ecology, movement patterns and stock structure across the Kerguelen Plateau.