AERD and the US AMLR Program

Since 1986, the AERD has managed the AMLR Program's field studies in Antarctic waters to investigate the effects of krill, crab, and finfish fisheries on the ecosystem, including effects on seal and seabird populations.

Studies conducted by US AMLR/AERD researchers include:

• Annual 2-3 month research vessel surveys to map krill distribution and abundance, and to measure environmental variables influencing krill in a study area off the Antarctic Peninsula;
• Research at land stations to determine effects of fishing on pinniped and seabird populations during their reproductive cycles; and
• Bottom trawl surveys in several regions of the Southern Ocean and Antarctic shelf areas to characterize Antarctic finfish populations, and their relationships to other components of the Antarctic ecosystem.  

Additional research and activities conducted by the AERD in support of the AMLR Program's objectives include:

• Monitoring commercial krill, finfish, and crab fishing vessels to determine catch statistics, by‑catch amount and composition, and occurrence of marine mammal and bird interactions;
• Conducting research on the improvement of field methodologies, effects of instrumentation, degree of data biases, and occurrence of sampling errors; and
• Providing leadership and advice to CCAMLR's Commission and Scientific Committee and its Working Groups.

The long term vision of the Program is to quantify the functional relationships between finfish and krill, their environment and their predators.  Once these relationships are elucidated, CCAMLR will have the capability to manage the marine living resources in the Southern Ocean using an ecosystem approach to ensure sustained harvesting of krill, fish and crabs.