The Antarctic toothfish (''Dissostichus mawsoni'') is a large, black or brown fish found in very cold (subzero) waters of the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

near Antarctica. It is the largest fish in the Southern Ocean, feeding on shrimp and smaller fish, and preyed on by whales,

orcas The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...

, and seals. It is caught for food and marketed as Chilean sea bass together with its sister species, the more northerly

Patagonian toothfish The Patagonian toothfish (''Dissostichus eleginoides'') is a species of notothen found in cold waters () between depths of in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most ...

(''D. eliginoides''). Often mistakenly called "Antarctic cod," the Antarctic toothfish belongs to the notothen family (

Nototheniidae : ''In some scientific literature, the term "cod icefish" is used to identify members of this family. This should not be confused with the term "icefish," which refers to the "white-blooded" fishes of the family Channichthyidae. See Icefish (disam ...

), a group of fish species abundant near Antarctica.

Name and taxonomy

The common name "toothfish" refers to the two rows of teeth in the upper jaw, thought to give it a shark-like appearance. The genus name ''Dissostichus'' is from the Greek (twofold) and ''stichus'' (line) and refers to the presence of two long lateral lines that enable the fish to sense prey. The species name, ''mawsoni'', honors the Australian geologist

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

who led the 1911-1914

Australasian Antarctic Expedition The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was a 1911–1914 expedition headed by Douglas Mawson that explored the largely uncharted Antarctic coast due south of Australia. Mawson had been inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernest ...

that explored the Antarctic coast and obtained the species' type specimen. The Antarctic toothfish was first formally described in 1937 by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

John Roxborough Norman John Roxborough Norman (1898, Wandsworth, London – 26 May 1944, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire) was an English ichthyologist. He started as a clerk in a bank. His lifetime affliction with rheumatic fever began during his military service during the ...

with the type locality given as off

MacRobertson Land Mac. Robertson Land is the portion of Antarctica lying southward of the coast between William Scoresby Bay and Cape Darnley. It is located at . In the east, Mac. Robertson Land includes the Prince Charles Mountains. It was named by the British A ...

at 66°45'S, 62°03'E in Antarctica.

Description

Fully grown, these fish (and their warmer-water relative, the

, ''D. eleginoides'') can grow to more than in length and 135 kg in weight, twice as large as the next-largest Antarctic fish. Being large, and consistent with the unstructured

food web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one ...

s of the ocean (i.e., big fish eat little fish regardless of identity, even eating their own offspring), the Antarctic toothfish has been characterized as a voracious predator. Furthermore, by being by far the largest midwater fish in the Southern Ocean, it is thought to fill the ecological role that

sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

play in other oceans. Aiding in that role, the Antarctic toothfish is one of only five notothenioid species that, as adults, are neutrally buoyant. This buoyancy is attained at 100–120 cm in length and enables them to spend time above the bottom without expending extra energy.Yukhov, V.L. (1971). The range of ''Dissostichus mawsoni'' Norman and some features of its biology. ''Journal of Ichthyology'' 11: 8–18. Both bottom-dwelling and mid-water prey are, therefore, available to them. Most other notothenioid fish and the majority of all Antarctic fishes, including smaller toothfish, are confined to the bottom. Coloring is black to olive brown, sometimes lighter on the undersides, with a mottled pattern on body and fins. Small fish blend in very well among the

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

s and

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

s. The species has a broad head, an elongated body, long

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s, large

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s, and a rudder-like

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. They typically move slowly, but are capable of speed bursts that can elude predatory seals.

Feeding ecology

Over the continental shelf, Antarctic toothfish feed on

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

('' Nauticaris'' spp.) and small fish, principally another neutrally buoyant nototheniid, the

Antarctic silverfish The Antarctic silverfish (''Pleuragramma antarctica''), or Antarctic herring, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean and the only truly pela ...

(''Pleuragramma antarcticum''). This loosely

schooling A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

species is also a major prey of Adélie (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') and

emperor penguins The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing from . Feathers of th ...

(''Aptenodytes forsteri''), Weddell seals (''Leptonychotes weddellii'') and Antarctic minke whales (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis''). Therefore, competition for prey among toothfish and these other mesopredators (middle

trophic level The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food web. A food chain is a succession of organisms that eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. The trophic level of an organism is the number of steps it i ...

predators) could be very important. The large Antarctic toothfish are eaten by

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

s (''Physeter macrocephalus''),

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

s (''Orcinus orca''), Weddell seals, and possibly

colossal squid The colossal squid (''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'') is part of the family Cranchiidae. It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized ...

(''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''). Toothfish that are dwelling on the bottom, particularly those caught during the summer on the

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

, eat mainly

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

(Macrouridae), but also feed on other smaller fish species and

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

s (''Raja'' spp.). They also feed on the

. Antarctic toothfish have been caught to depths of 2200 m, though based on commercial fishing effort, few occur that deep.Hanchet, S.M.; Rickard, G.J.; Fenaughty, J.M.; Dunn, A.; and Williams, M.J.H. (2008). Hypothetical life cycle for Antarctic toothfish (''Dissostichus mawsoni'') in the Ross Sea region. CCAMLR Sci. 15:35–53.

Aging and reproduction

Aging data indicate Antarctic toothfish are relatively fast-growing when young, but then growth slows later in life. They reach about one-third of maximum size after 5 years, and half maximum by 10 years, after which growth slows considerably. To grow fast when small is an adaptation of most

predatory fish Predatory fish are hypercarnivorous fish that actively prey upon other fish or aquatic animals, with examples including shark, billfish, barracuda, pike/muskellunge, walleye, perch and salmon. Some omnivorous fish, such as the red-bellied piranha ...

, e.g., sharks, so as not to be small for very long. The maximum age recorded so far has been 48 years. Antarctic toothfish take a long time to mature (13 years for males, 17 years for females) and once mature may not

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

every year, though the actual spawning interval is unknown. Only a few Antarctic toothfish with mature eggs have ever been caught, meaning knowledge is sparse about fecundity.Hanchet, S.M. (2010) Updated species profile for Antarctic toothfish (''Dissostichus mawson''i). CCAMLR WG-FSA-10/24. Hobart, Australia. They spawn sometime during winter.Brooks, C.M.; Ashford, J.R. (2008) Spatial distribution and age structure of the Antarctic toothfish (''Dissostichus mawsoni'') in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. CCAMLR WG-FSA-08-18. Hobart, Australia. Large, mature, older fish have been caught among the

seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...

s of the

Pacific-Antarctic Ridge The Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (PAR) is a divergent tectonic plate boundary located on the seafloor of the South Pacific Ocean, separating the Pacific Plate from the Antarctic Plate. It is regarded as the southern section of the East Pacific Rise ...

, a location thus thought to be important for spawning. Smaller, subadult Antarctic toothfish tend to concentrate in shallower waters on the continental shelf, while a large portion of the older fish are found on in the continental slope. This sequestering by size and age could be another adaptation for small fish to avoid being eaten by large ones. The recruitment potential of Antarctic toothfish, a measure of both fecundity and survival to spawning age, is not known.

Anatomy and physiology

The Antarctic toothfish has a lightweight, partially

cartilaginous Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck and ...

skeleton, lacks a

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

, and has fatty deposits which act as a stored energy source, particularly during spawning. This fat also makes large toothfish neutrally buoyant. Many toothfish caught over the seamounts are very depleted of fat, and this is thought perhaps to be related to spawning and spawning migration, which are energy-demanding activities. It is not known what happens to these fat-depleted fish, including whether they reach, or how long it takes them to reach, breeding condition again; this ostensibly occurs upon returning to continental-slope waters. Antarctic toothfish have

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

and

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

systems well adapted to find prey in low light levels.Eastman, JT; Lannoo, MJ. (2011). Divergence of brain and retinal anatomy and histology in pelagic Antarctic notothenioid fishes of the sister taxa ''Dissostichus'' and ''Pleuragramma''. Journal of Morphology 272:419-441. Since ice covers the surface of the ocean where Antarctic toothfish occur even in summer, these sensory specializations likely evolved to enable survival in the reduced light levels found under ice and in the Antarctic winter, as well as at deep depths. Antarctic toothfish also have a very well developed sense of smell, which is why they are easily caught by baited hooks and also scavenge the remains of penguins killed by other predators.

Cold adaptation

The Antarctic toothfish lives in subzero degree water below latitude 60°S. It is noteworthy, like most other Antarctic notothenioids, for producing antifreeze glycoproteins, a feature not seen in its closest relative, the Patagonian toothfish, which typically inhabits slightly warmer waters. The presence of antifreeze glycoproteins allows the Antarctic toothfish (and other notothenioids) to thrive in subzero waters of the Southern Ocean surrounding

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. The Antarctic toothfish's voracious appetite also is important in coping with cold water. It is mainly caught in the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who vi ...

in the austral summer, but has also been recorded from Antarctic coastal waters south of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

sector, in the vicinity of the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

, and near the

South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...

Fishery and associated ecosystem

A fishery for Antarctic toothfish, managed by the

Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also known as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the Antarctic Treaty System. The convention was opened for s ...

(CCAMLR), has existed since 1997. The existence of this fishery in the Ross Sea, the area where most Antarctic toothfish are caught, is very contentious - the main argument proposed for this is the lack of accurate population parameters, such as original stock size, fecundity, and recruitment. Moreover, the main fishing grounds are presumed by some researchers to cover the area through which the entire stock of Antarctic toothfish pass. Typically, the fishing season has finished in the area by the end of February and for the remainder of the year, much of the area is covered by sea ice, providing a natural impediment to fishing. This fishery is characterised by opponents as being a challenge to manage owing to the nature of benthic

longline fishing Longline fishing, or longlining, is a commercial fishing angling technique that uses a long ''main line'' with baited hooks attached at intervals via short branch lines called ''snoods'' or ''gangions''. Current spawning stock biomass for Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea Region is estimated to be at 75% of the pre-exploitation level (95% Bayesian probability interval 71–78%), well above the 50% target reference point. An independent study was reported to have detected the disappearance of large fish at the southern periphery of its range in the

McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo o ...

and was postulated to be consistent with this apparent loss of large fish.Ainley, D.G.; Nur, N.; Eastman, J.T.; Ballard, G.; Parkinson, C.L.; Evans, C.W.; and DeVries, A.L. (2012). Decadal trends in abundance, size and condition of Antarctic toothfish in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, 1972-2011. Fish & Fisheries, . However, more recent work has shown this was not the case in 2014. Some studies have reported that the prevalence of fish-eating killer whales has been apparently decreasing in the southern Ross Sea, foraging efficiency of

Weddell seal The Weddell seal (''Leptonychotes weddellii'') is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expeditions led by British sealing ...

s is decreasing, and numbers of

Adélie penguin The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor p ...

s (competitors for

) have been increasing. More recent studies have confirmed visual sightings of Weddell seals and Type-C killer whales holding and consuming large toothfish in the McMurdo Sound area and raise questions over the previously assumed importance of assumed dominance of Antarctic silverfish (''Pleuragramma antarcticum'') in the diet of Weddell seal and Type-C killer whales. These reports highlight the importance of managing this fishery in the best interests of the ecosystem by continuing to collect information on both Antarctic toothfish life history and the interaction of that species with predators and prey. An important research programme in this regard is the annual 'Shelf' survey carried out annually since 2012, which is designed to monitor the abundance of subadult Antarctic toothfish in areas where subadult-sized fish have been regularly found (e.g., in the southern Ross Sea) has been designed provide data to better estimate recruitment variability and provide an important early-warning signal of changes in toothfish recruitment. The project also is used for additional targeted data collection to better understand the lifecycle and ecosystem role of Antarctic toothfish. Research has provided evidence for long-distance migrations of type-C killer whales between the Ross Sea and New Zealand waters, indicating a much wider range that had been postulated by a number of scientists. One adult female type-C killer whale has been seen in both New Zealand waters and McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, and a high large proportion of type-C killer whales sighted in McMurdo Sound have scars caused by cookiecutter sharks that are currently assumed to be limited to north of 50°S. At the same time as this study was occurring, Italian whale experts at Terra Nova Bay, about 360 km north of Scott Base, deployed satellite transmitters on type-C killer whales to determine the whales' movements. Their results independently verified that type-C killer whales were commuting between Scott Base and the waters off Northland. The total catch of Antarctic toothfish in 2013–14 was 3820 tonnes; 3,320 tonnes of this were taken from the Ross Sea (FAO Statistical Divisions 88.1 and 88.2), with the remainder taken from other high seas areas within the CCAMLR convention area.

Management

The ecosystem approach to fishing is encapsulated in Article II of the CAMLR Convention. The ecosystem approach uses decision rules based on both population status targets and limit reference points, and incorporates uncertainty and ecosystem status in the calculation of these targets. Different reference points to account for the needs of dependent predators in the ecosystem are used depending on the location of the species in the food web. The ecosystem fisheries management approach by CCAMLR involves use of move-on rules to protect trophic interactions, and limit direct effects of fishing on fish bycatch, seabirds, and vulnerable marine ecosystems. Annually reviewed mitigation measures such as line weighting and streamer lines minimize seabird bycatch, which have resulted in a substantial reduction in accidental seabird mortalities in the CAMLR Convention Area. The 50% (target) and 20% (limit) reference points used by the CCAMLR decision rules exceed the requirements for target and limit reference points set by almost all national and international fisheries management organizations, even for species longer lived than toothfish. A wide study of many fisheries generally indicated that most reach maximum sustainable yield at 30–35% of their pre-exploitation abundances. CCAMLR uses a more conservative reference level to allow exploitation at a level where toothfish recruitment and the ecosystem in general is not appreciably impacted. This is required by Article II of the CAMLR Convention. A common misunderstanding of the CCAMLR decision rules is an assumption that the decline in population size will follow a clear trajectory from the starting year to a point 35 years later when the stock size will reach 50% of pre-exploitation levels and an assumption that no feedback occurs during each assessment. The catch limit, though, is recalculated based on all updated or revised data at each annual or biennial assessment. This approach is used to ensure that the 50% level will be approached slowly and enables an ongoing readjustment of catch levels as knowledge improves.

Environment and bycatch

CCAMLR imposes stringent environmental protection and

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

mitigation measures to Antarctic toothfish fisheries, including: * Monitoring of daytime setting and movement of vessels from the fishery should any vessel catch more than three seabirdsCCAMLR CM 25-02, http://www.ccamlr.org/en/measure-25-02-2009 * Use of streamer lines during setting to keep birds away from baited hooks * Weighting of lines to ensure fast sink rates to prevent seabirds from accessing baited hooks * The use of bird exclusion devices to prevent birds from accessing hooks whilst lines are being hauled * Limitations on the release of fish offal overboard at the same time as setting and hauling of lines to avoid attracting seabirds: An additional requirement prohibits the dumping of all offal south of 60°S, the region where Antarctic toothfish are caughtCCAMLR CM 26-01, http://www.ccamlr.org/en/measure-26-01-2001 * Prohibition on the dumping of oil, plastic, garbage,

food waste Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...

, poultry, eggs or eggshells, sewage, and ash by fishing vessels * Prohibition of the use of plastic packaging bands on fishing vessels Incidental mortality of seabirds as a result of fishing has fallen to near-zero levels in the CCAMLR convention area. No mortality of seabirds or marine mammals was recorded as a result of fishing for Antarctic toothfish in 2011–12 and only two seabirds (southern giant petrels ''Macronectes giganteus'') have been killed as a result of fishing in the Ross Sea since 1996/97.

Compliance

Compliance measures adopted by CCAMLR apply to all Antarctic toothfish fisheries. These include: * At-sea inspections of

fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

s * Vessel licensing * Port inspections of fishing vessels * Continuous reporting of fishing vessel positions via satellite-linked

vessel monitoring system Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) is a general term to describe systems that are used in commercial fishing to allow environmental and fisheries regulatory organizations to track and monitor the activities of fishing vessels. They are a key part of ...

s * Catch documentation scheme for toothfish, which tracks toothfish from the point of landing through to the final point of sale and requires verification and authorisation by government authorities at each step * The requirement to carry two scientific observers on each licensed vessel – including one from a member state other than the vessel flag

Sustainability

In November 2010, the

Marine Stewardship Council The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organization which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a te ...

(MSC) certified the Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish fishery as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. The certification is contentious, with many conservation groups protesting the certification due to the paucity of information needed to reliably manage the fishery, and that only eight of the 19 vessels in the fishery during the latest year for which data are publicly available were certified. During the 2013–14 season, vessels operating under the Marine Stewardship Certification landed 51.3% of all Antarctic toothfish from the Ross Sea Region (CCAMLR Subarea 88.1) and 64.7% of Antarctic toothfish from the Amundsen Sea sector (CCAMLR Subarea 88.2). The argument that only a portion of Antarctic toothfish is certified, the high price it commands, and the remote areas where a large proportion of the fish are caught have been advanced as an encouragement to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and mislabeling. A 2011 genetic study of MSC-labeled Antarctic toothfish found in markets revealed a significant proportion was not from the MSC-certified stock, and many were not toothfish at all. The MSC had conducted its own internal study, which found no evidence of mislabeling. The MSC conducts an annual audit of the fishery which includes sampling of certified product. Due to the challenges that faced toothfish management in the 1990s and early 2000s (e.g., IUU fishing, mislabeling, and inadequate data for management), consumer seafood guides such as

Seafood Watch __NOTOC__ Seafood Watch is a sustainable seafood advisory list, and has influenced similar programs around the world. It is best known for developing science-based seafood recommendations that consumers, chefs, and business professionals use to i ...

placed toothfish of both species (Chilean seabass) on their red, or “avoid”, list; however, in light of up-to-date, internationally peer-reviewed scientific information, in April 2013, Seafood Watch upgraded the Ross Sea Antarctic toothfish fishery to a "good alternative". Following a comprehensive review in 2012, the Monterey Bay Aquarium revised its rating of Antarctic toothfish to 'good alternative'.

Greenpeace International Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

added the Antarctic toothfish to its seafood red list in 2010. This approach is at variance with the high score given the fishery when it was granted certification by the MSC.

References

Further references

* * ) {{DEFAULTSORT:toothfish, Antarctic Antarctic toothfish Fish of Antarctica Fish of the Southern Ocean Antarctic toothfish Taxa named by John Roxborough Norman Commercial fish