Department of Climate Change, Australian Antarctic Division, Energy, The Environment and Water, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia.
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
PLoS One. 2024 May 14;19(5):e0298754. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298754. eCollection 2024.
The grey rockcod, Lepidonotothen squamifrons is an important prey species for seals, penguins and Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in the Southern Ocean. Across the Kerguelen Plateau, the species was fished to commercial extinction (ca. 152 000 tonnes between 1971 and 1978) prior to the declaration of the French Exclusive Economic Zone in 1979 and the Australian Fishing Zone in 1981. In this study we estimate; age, growth, maturity, sex ratio, body condition (weight-at-length), and population density of grey rockcod using data from 19 trawl surveys from 1990 to 2014. There appeared to be three distinct geographical populations, with differences in biological parameters within each population. This study has identified separate metapopulations within the southern region of the Kerguelen Plateau and we recommend that management should take into account the different characteristics of these populations, and that this meta-population structure may be a factor in why this species required several decades to show signs of recovery.
灰岩鳕（Lepidonotothen squamifrons）是南大洋海豹、企鹅和巴塔哥尼亚齿鱼（Dissostichus eleginoides）的重要猎物物种。在 1979 年法国宣布专属经济区和 1981 年澳大利亚宣布捕鱼区之前，该物种在 1971 年至 1978 年间被捕捞至商业灭绝（约 152000 吨）。在这项研究中，我们利用 1990 年至 2014 年 19 次拖网调查的数据，估计了灰岩鳕的年龄、生长、成熟、性比、身体状况（体长体重）和种群密度。似乎存在三个明显的地理种群，每个种群的生物参数存在差异。本研究在科古伦高原南部地区确定了独立的复合种群，我们建议管理部门应考虑到这些种群的不同特征，并且这种复合种群结构可能是该物种需要几十年才能显示出恢复迹象的一个因素。
