Argentina dispatches a research cruise on Patagonian toothfish

Argentina has launched a research cruise on Patagonian tooth fish (Dissostichus eleginoides) to collect more information on the reproduction physiology of the species. The fishing factory vessel San Arawa II left Ushuaia with a team of scientists from INIDEP, the Mar del Plata based Fisheries Research and Development Institute, and the cruise is expected to last some three weeks. The area under research is located between parallels 54 and 55 degrees South and Meridians 61 to 64, West. Apparently according to the research agenda this area is a rich toothfish fishery, with great yields and the objective is to study reproduction conditions towards the end of the fishing ban. Likewise other areas of interest are the age structure and the trophic ecology of the species in the extreme south of South America, following on the analysis of stable isotopes, plus submarine filming, to better understand reactions of the species to different fishing gear and trying to identify and quantify ...