The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program: some observations

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The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program some
observations

• Colin Southwell
• Australian Antarctic Division

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What is CCAMLR?
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources
Established under the aegis of the Antarctic
Treaty in 1982
An international convention that aims to manage
harvesting of living resources in the Southern
Ocean in a sustainable way
Takes an ecosystem approach sustainable to the
harvested species, dependent species and
ecosystem processes
32 contracting nations
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What is CEMP?
Southern Ocean fisheries - finfish -
krill - squid - crab
The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP)
aims to contribute to management of the krill
fishery
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Krill harvesting in the Southern Ocean
Concern that increasing catches of krill will
impact on krill, on krill-dependent species
(whales, seals, seabirds), and on ecosystem
processes
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Original aims of CEMP
1. Detect significant changes in critical
components of the ecosystem
2. Distinguish between changes due to harvesting
of krill and changes due to environmental
variability, both physical and biological
Catch limits are imposed but - catch predictions
derived from estimates of krill biomass and
demographics - high uncertainty on krill biomass
estimates - many assumptions underlying models
used to predict the catch
The monitoring program provides empirical
feedback to ensure that management procedures
are safe
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Establishing CEMP
Trends in krill stock
Trends in krill predators
Predator performance parameters
Standard methods
Sample size recommendations
Encourage member nations to participate by
establishing monitoring sites
Annual monitoring
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Some observations from CEMP
Aim 1. Detect significant changes in critical
components of the ecosystem perhaps more
difficult than originally thought
- Natural inter-annual variability is high e.g.
foraging trip duration
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Some observations from CEMP
When is a change really a change?
- What effect size is deemed to be important
biologically or socially?
- How often are we prepared to make Type I errors
in declaring a change?
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Some observations from CEMP
Aim 2. Cant distinguish between changes due to
harvesting of krill and changes due to
environmental variability
- No design to the CEMP program to partition
fishing impacts from other impacts
- Are the aims clear and achievable?
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Some observations from CEMP
Purpose Is CEMP a long-term study of system
process, or a management- directed monitoring
program, or both?
- Tries to be both?
- Advantage more knowledge-value for money

• Disadvantage without a deciding which gets
  priority, both may suffer trying to achieve
• too much
• e.g. given fixed resources, a detailed process
  study at a single site may limit the spatial
• extent of monitoring and therefore the ability
  to infer regional scale trends

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Some observations from CEMP
Standard methods
- A strong point for CEMP, but
- Are standard methods for all sites necessary,
or do or do methods just need to be
consistent across time?

• The need to commit to standard methods across
• nations or sites may limits the number of
• participating nations

- Can new methods be calibrated for
consistency with existing methods?
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Some observations from CEMP
Long term consistency and standardisation
inter-generational consistency
- CEMP now 25 years old
- New cohort of researchers about to take over

• Will the creativity of new researchers be
  constrained by the need to use existing,
• standardised methods?

• Should a monitoring program have a core element
  that is not all-committing to the researcher
• to allow space for new and varying work

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Some observations from CEMP
Long term monitoring, shrinking budgets and
cost-effectiveness
- CEMP now 25 years old
- Long term programs always first to go in a
budget squeeze

• Imperative to make programs as cost-effective as
  possible

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Some observations from CEMP
Automation for cost-effectiveness and sampling
effectiveness
Detection gateway
Automatic camera
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Some observations from CEMP
CCAMLR Secretariat for data submission, archiving
and processing
- One of CEMPs strengths
- Data must be submitted annually
- Standard format for submission
- Electronic submission
- Fast turn-around time in data summarising
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Australian CEMP program

• Monitoring site established near Mawson
• station in 1990

• Annual monitoring of all predator parameters
• for the Adelie penguin since then

• Baseline data on natural variability under
• a minimal harvest regime

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Present review of CEMP
Some of the main findings for improvements

• Not possible to distinguish between effects of
  harvesting and environmental
• variability with current design
  (observational, not experimental)

• Need to develop a spatial structure for
  monitoring
• large management units exist but are not
  considered
• need smaller scale management units within which
  the monitoring program
• is designed

• Need to improve understanding of the sources and
  magnitude of natural variability
• (in particular, temporal and spatial
  variability)

• Reduced set of core parameters

• Monitoring needs to be more closely linked to
  management procedures and actions

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Future

• Distinguish between harvesting and natural
  variability
• consider large-scale experimental approach or
  design?
• regional management of fishing intensity?

• Spatial structure
• establish small-scale management units

• Quantify sources and magnitude of natural
  variability
• modelling and power analyses of existing data
• - reconsider sample size in the light of long
  term variability
• - identify most sensitive parameters

• Link to management procedures
• CCAMLR workshop in 2005
• - effect size, trigger points, decision rules,
  management actions

• Re-design or refine the monitoring program to
  new management procedures
• CCAMLR workshop in 2006