Acronym DISCOVERY
Category
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Title Monitoring DISsostichus mawsoni in sea-ice COVERed areas of the Ross Sea Region MPA bY low-impact technologies Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
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Funding source National Coordinator Laura Ghigliotti Coordinator email laura.ghigliotti@cnr.it
Coordinator institution
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Institutions involved
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Start year 2020 End year 2023 Funding (€) € 120,150 Website https://www.pnra.aq/en/project/401/monitoring-dissostichus-mawsoni-sea-ice-covered-areas-ross-sea-region-mpa-low-impact Summary The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni Norman 1937) is widely distributed in the coastal waters of the Southern Ocean, where it plays an important ecological role as a predator of high trophic level. In the Ross Sea Region, D. mawsoni has been commercially fished since 1997, under the supervision of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). In twenty years, a significant amount of data has been collected on the ecology and biology of the Antarctic toothfish, however the information is mostly limited to the summer season and open waters, while data relating to areas covered by ice are extremely deficient, although occasional surveys in McMurdo Sound have shown interesting differences in feeding habits and demographics of the species in open water compared to ice-covered areas. The entry into force of the Marine Protected Area of the Ross Sea Region, referred to the Conservation Measure 91-05 which includes the Antarctic toothfish among the key species, makes it urgent to expand the information on this species also to sea areas covered by ice to refine, expand and integrate knowledge about the Antarctic toothfish and fill current gaps in the life cycle of this fish in the Ross Sea. DISCOVERY intends to contribute to the research and monitoring in the Ross Sea Region MPA by laying the foundations for the monitoring of the Antarctic toothfish in the Terra Nova Bay area, using low-impact technologies. The proposed multidisciplinary approach, which includes the use of marine acoustics, environmental DNA analysis and video tools, will allow the collection of accurate data thanks to the comparison and cross-validation of the different technologies used. The measurement of parameters relating to the water column and ice dynamics in the study area will represent an important added value for the correct interpretation of the collected data.
Keywords
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Marine Region
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Marine Region Map
