Fishery dynamics and variability of Illex argentinus recruitment in the Southwest Atlantic

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The squid Illex argentinus is the most abundant and one of the most important commercial species in the Southwest Atlantic, including the Falkland Islands. However, there are a number of challenges to Illex fisheries management in the South Atlantic including the lack of a coordinated fisheries mechanism and access to catch and effort data by nations fishing the region, particularly on the high seas to the north of the Falkland Islands.

By using remote sensing data and modelling techniques, this project aims to investigate, how oceanography is related to fishing behaviour and catches and which factors might play a role in illex distribution. Furthermore, the project will assess, whether modelling can be used to predict recruitment success prior to the main Illex season, as an alternative stock assessment approach.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Modelling Illex catchability

Using remote sensing data

Spatial and temporal distribution

Project Manager

TOBIAS BÜRING

Tobias studied Biology and Biological Oceanography in Kiel, Germany. For his Master Thesis, Tobias investigated the ecology of Antarctic octopods by applying stomach content analysis and stable isotope measurements. In 2019 he started his PhD on the ‘Loligo’ squid Doryteuthis gahi in the Falkland Islands, which was finished in 2023. Tobias used again stomach contents and stable isotopes to investigate the trophic ecology of D. gahi and its two seasonal cohorts. Furthermore, he analysed related predator and prey species of D. gahi and built an ecosystem model of the Falkland Islands. Enthralled by the beauty of the Falkland Islands, Tobias now works for SAERI on the ‘Illex’ – Project, modelling species abundance and distribution based on remote sensing data.