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Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database: Case

Macquarie Island Marine Park

SummaryThis case includes three types of environmental commons; Patagonian toothfish as the only fishery in the region, Royal Penguin as an indicator of ecosystem health, and light-mantled albatross as a migratory species. Royal Penguins breed exclusively on Macquarie Island and the nearby Clark and Bishop islets; making them potentially sensitive to changes in the conditions of Macquarie Island and the surrounding area. Three governance systems and three actors groups are also included. The toothfish fishery management plan regulates the use of toothfish resources within surrounding waters and is implemented by the Australian fisheries management authority. The Nature Reserve Management plan governs the land and sea areas out to 3 nautical miles. Sea areas are no-take areas. Finally the MPA management plan governs areas between 3-200 nautical miles. Macquarie Island Managers consist of the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and Director of National Parks, Department of the Environment. The Macquarie Island Marine Park is now part of the Southeast Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network, and was previously governed under the Macquarie Island Marine Park Management Plan for areas between 3 and 200 nautical miles and the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan for the land areas and waters out to 3 nautical miles.
Statuspublic
TeamGraham's Team
Start Date2014-10-17
Coding Complete?No
SectorMarine protected areas
ProjectSESMAD
Data Source(s)Secondary data
CountryAustralia
External BiophysicalThe major biophysical disturbances that have affected this case over its history relate to introduction of invasive species. Since the 1800's a number of species including rabbits, mice, sheep, goats and cats were introduced to the island in addition to a number of plant species. Cats, rabbits and mice have had a major impact on seabirds via egg predation and deterioration of habitats. Cats were eradicated around the year 2000 and Macquarie Island was declared free of rabbits, rats and mice in 2014.
External SocialIllegal fishing of Patagonian toothfish has motivated legal toothfish operators to self-organize into the coalition of legal toothfish operators.
Snapshots2001-2014: This case was coded as a single snapshot between 2001 when the Marine Park came into effect until the end of 2014. Although the park is now part of a Marine Reserves Network it has not had a major impact on how the park is governed. The only major change in this snapshot was that longlining was permitted in the toothfish fishery.
TimelinePROTECTION OF THE LAND AREA OF MACQUARIE ISLAND 1928: The island was made a wildlife sanctuary under the Animals and Birds Protection Act of 1928 1971: Was re-proclaimed as a conservation area under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Re-proclaimed as a State Reserve 1977: Declare a UNESCO biosphere reserve 1978: Protection extended to low-water mark 1979: Visitors to the island require advance authorization PROTECTION OF MARINE AREAS December 1997: Surrounding waters to 12 nautical miles were added to the World Heritage list and protected under the Environment protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2000: The Macquarie Island Nature Reserve was extended to 3 nautical miles MARINE RESERVE 1999: The Macquarie Island Marine Park was proclaimed in 1999 2001: The Macquaries island Marine Park Management Plan was prepared and applies to waters between 3 and 200 nautical miles from shore 2007: Proclaimed as part of the South-East Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network
Modeling Issues
Surveys
Theories

Visualization

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Attached Components

Actors

Name:
Australian Toothfish Fishers
details
Past collaboration:
High (3)
Although the companies may compete for access to fishing grounds, they have worked together to obtain sustainability certification (through the MSC) and must continue to work together to maintain this certification. Further, they are members of COLTO and accordingly have worked, and continue to work together, to lobby for legal toothfish operators and to take action against illegal fishing (E.g., Osterblom and Sumaila 2011).
Costs of exit:
Yes
Costs of exit is high since these two Australian fishing companies hold the entire quota at the Macquarie and the Heard and McDonald Islands. Further, these companies have worked (and invested) in becoming certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which adds further value to the fishery. Also, while Toothfish fisheries exist in other areas throughout the circumpolar region, most of them are in other States' EEZ and would not be open to Australian fishing vessels. Some stocks on the high seas (e.g, in the Ross Sea) would be available to Australian fishing vessels, however, these fisheries occur in a highly competitive Olympic Style fashion and Australian vessels would not be guaranteed any portion of the quota.
Proportionality (of costs and benefits):
Yes
Interest heterogeneity:
Low (1)
Toothfish fishing rights are held by a small number of operators. At Macquarie Island and Heard and McDonald Islands, rights are held by 2 companies; Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd and Australian Longline Pty Ltd. At Macquarie a maximum of three boats are allowed to operate at any one time. At the Heard and McDonald Islands, up until the 2011/12 season, three vessels were in operation per season. Between 2012/13 and 2013/14 season, four vessels were in operation.
Leadership:
["Informal leader"]
There is some informal leadership through COLTO, particularly though the chairman who heavily lobbies on behalf of COLTO and all legal toothfish operations. The chairman invests his time heavily in traveling to meetings, engaging with industry, NGOs, scientists and others to promote the image of sustainable legal toothfish operators (See e.g., .
Leadership authority:
Missing
Actor group trust:
Missing
Personal communication:
More than once a year (5)
Industry representatives meet multiples times a year through a variety of forums including SARAG (the Subantarctic Resource Assessment Group, which meets multiple times a year), SouthMAC (the Subantarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee, which meets at least once a year), CCAMLR meetings, COLTO meetings.
Remote communication:
More than once a year (5)
In coordinating through various forums (e.g., see above, SARAG, SouthMAC, CCAMLR, COLTO) as well as MSC certification.
Leadership accountability:
Missing
Actor group coordination:
Both formal and informal
They coordinate through fishing operations. Also, these two companies also applied jointly for MSC certification. They are also members of the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO) that lobbies on behalf of legal toothfish operators, pressing for regulations against IUU fishing.
Name:
Macquarie Island Managers
details
Past collaboration:
Medium (2)
Managers do collaborate on the management of the MPA and Nature Reserve.
Costs of exit:
Not Applicable
Proportionality (of costs and benefits):
Not Applicable
Interest heterogeneity:
Medium (2)
They share interests in conservation; but can and have faced disagreements over who should pay for and implement conservation activities.
Leadership:
Formal leader
Formal leaders are defined by legislation and management plans; and hold authority over the Marine Park and Nature Reserve, respectively.
Leadership authority:
Low (1)
Leaders hold high levels of authority within the Nature Reserve and MPA; but do not hold authority outside of those areas.
Actor group trust:
Missing
Personal communication:
Missing
Remote communication:
Missing
Leadership accountability:
Low (1)
Leaders of each group are not formally accountable to one another.
Actor group coordination:
Both formal and informal
Nature reserve management plan and Marine Park Management Plan aim to align conservation policies.
Name:
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
details
Past collaboration:
High (3)
The AFMA was established in 1992 and members have had to work together since then in managing a wide variety of fisheries throughout Australia's EEZ (which is the third largest in the world).
Costs of exit:
Not Applicable
Proportionality (of costs and benefits):
Not Applicable
Interest heterogeneity:
Low (1)
The AFMA share interests in the management of fish resources within Australian Territorial Waters
Leadership:
["Formal leader"]
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority is a government agency with a formal bureaucratic structure.
Leadership authority:
High (3)
AFMA is the AU government's statutory agency responsible for fisheries management.
Actor group trust:
Missing
Personal communication:
More than once a year (5)
AFMA representatives meet multiples times a year through a variety of forums including SARAG (the Subantarctic Resource Assessment Group, which meets multiple times a year), SouthMAC (the Subantarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee, which meets at least once a year), and in and around CCAMLR meetings.
Remote communication:
More than once a year (5)
In coordinating through various forums (e.g., see above, SARAG, SouthMAC, CCAMLR, etc.).
Leadership accountability:
Medium (2)
AFMA, as a government agency, has a bureaucratic structure.
Actor group coordination:
Formal
Members of the AFMA meet regularly with each other to manage fish resources.

Governance Systems

Name:
Macquarie Island Marine Park Management Plan
details
Type of formal governance:
Management plan
Management plans have been designed and implemented under the appropriate legislation.
End Date:
Current (2014)
Coded as of the end of 2014
Begin date:
2001
Marine park was designated in 1999; became effective in 2001.
Governance trigger:
Not Applicable
Governance system description:
 
Governance scale:
State-based policy
Centralization:
Highly centralized (4)
Governance is controlled heavily by major state bodies, most notably, the Department of the Environment. As there is no resident population, the level of centralization is unsurprising.
Metric diversity:
High: Many metrics for success (3)
Management plans include a wide range of goals, including preservation of species and habitats, and the elimination of invasive species and minimization of potential threats. The management plan adopts an ecosystem-based approach to management and aims to coordinate regulations with the nature reserve and CCAMLR.
MPA primary goal (in practice):
["Biodiversity conservation"]
Biodiversity conservation is the main goal of this management plan; although it does include consideration of threat reduction and protection of migratory species.
MPA motivation:
["Ecological value", "Feasibility"]
The Macquarie Island Nature Reserve has been protected in one way or another since the early 1900's. The area is important for a number of migratory species. It appears that the area was chosen fior an MPA because of this value; but also because the absence of a human population made it fairly easy to design and implement.
MPA protection:
["Protecting key life history stage(s)", "Reducing threats"]
MPA internal natural boundaries:
Low (1)
No-take areas are not clearly distinguished from habitat species management zone on the basis of depth or benthic characteristics.
Distance to markets:
More than 1000km (4)
Macquarie Island is located approximately 1500km from Tasmania. However, the only harvested species (Patagonian toothfish) serve mostly the Japanese and US markets.
MPA budget:
Not Applicable
PA IUCN strict zones:
35.8 %
35.8% of the marine reserve is a no-take area (IUCN Ia) out of a total area of 162000 square kilometers. The remainder is a habitat protection (IUCN IV)
MPA connectivity:
No (1)
There is no clear evidence that connectivity was considered as part of the design of this reserve. Although it is now part of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Management Plan it is somewhat of an outlier from the other members of the network.
PA CAR principles:
Yes (3)
MPA migratory benefit:
Yes
Protects important breeding grounds and foraging areas
MPA migratory life history:
The MPA and Nature Reserve are critical as a breeding ground for a number of migratory seabirds such as the Wandering and Light-mantled albatross, and penguins such as the Royal Penguin.
The MPA and Nature Reserve are critical as a breeding ground for a number of migratory seabirds such as the Wandering and Light-mantled albatross, and penguins such as the Royal Penguin.
MPA threats to migratory sp:
["Bycatch", "Habitat destruction"]
The major threats to migratory species within the MPA are bycatch in the small toothfish fishery and potential habitat threats. Mineral and petroleum exploration are not currently allowed within the MPA; nor is the dumping of waste within the MPA. Only passive transit of vessels is allowed in the highly protected zone.
MPA migratory threats and redux:
Threat reduction concentrates on preventing and limiting bycatch in the toothfish fishery and preserving foraging grounds for migratory species.
Social-ecological fit:
Medium (2)
Because many of the species it aims to protect are migratory (i.e. Light-mantled albatross, Royal Penguin) or do not appear to fully occupy the MPA (i.e. Patagonian toothfish) it does not match the spatial distribution of these resources. However, within the spatial limitations there is a good fit between the rule and the resources they mean to govern.
Governance knowledge use:
["Scientific knowledge"]
Scientific knowledge is used almost, if not, totally exclusively. There is no resident population on the island other than researchers and workers for the Australian Antarctic Division.
MPA IUCN somewhat strict zones:
64.2 %
64.2% of the marine reserve is a habitat/species protection zone (IUCN IV) out of a total area of 162000 square kilometers. The remainder is a habitat protection (IUCN Ia)
MPA IUCN sustainable zones :
0 %
There are no category V and VI sustainable use zones in the Macquarie MPA
MPA threats:
The only major threat potentially affecting resources f
Governance system spatial extent:
162000
Horizontal coordination:
 
Name:
Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan
details
Type of formal governance:
Management plan
End Date:
Current (2014)
Governance system remains in place. Coded until 2014.
Begin date:
1978
The land area was initially protected in 1933; the reserve was extended to 3 nautical miles and its present form in 1978.
Governance trigger:
Not Applicable
Governance system description:
The Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan is implemented by Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania who is responsible for governing the land area of Macquarie Island as well as marine areas out to 3 nautical miles; and coordinates with the Department of the Environment to ensure that regulations are consistent with those in place in the Marine Park. The marine area out to 3 nautical miles is managed as a no-take zone Terrestrial areas have been protected to some extent since 1933. In general the Nature Reserve Management Plan aims to reduce threats to and conserve biodiversity by concentrating human activity in one area of the reserve, while limiting access and impacts in other areas. They have also invested in a successful pest eradication program.
Governance scale:
State-based policy
State of Tasmania-level policy operates within the context of international agreements such as the World Heritage Convention, Convention on Biodiversity, Convention on Migratory Species, and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels.
Centralization:
Highly centralized (4)
Metric diversity:
High: Many metrics for success (3)
The management plan includes 10 major goals that include include conserving biodiversity, reversing negative conservation trends, maintaining quarantine procedures, limiting impact of tourism and research activities, preserving cultural heritage, and maintaining or improving natural ecological processes that are directly or indirectly related to human disturbance.
Distance to markets:
More than 1000km (4)
Macquarie island is more than 1000km from the nearest fisheries markets.
Social-ecological fit:
High (3)
Governance knowledge use:
["Scientific knowledge"]
Governance system spatial extent:
875
The Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan covers an area of approximately 875 square kilometers; approximately 128 square kilometers of which is terrestrial.
Horizontal coordination:
 
Name:
Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery Management Plan
details
Type of formal governance:
Management plan
Management plan has been implemented in the context of enabling legislation
End Date:
Current (2014)
As of 2014
Begin date:
1994
A trial fishery was begun in 1994.
Governance trigger:
Not Applicable
Governance system description:
The toothfish fishery management plan adopts quotas, input controls (3 boat maximum at any one time) and gear restrictions to manage the fishery and limit environmental impacts. The plan is implemented primarily by the AFMA, with 2 observers aboard each boat.
Governance scale:
State-based policy
The Toothfish fisheries management plan is governed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Centralization:
Highly centralized (4)
Decisions are made by the national government
Metric diversity:
High: Many metrics for success (3)
Governance system aims to maintain stocks at sustainable levels, but also seeks to limit bycatch, particularly seabird bycatch and the potential impacts of the fishing fleet on the environment.
Distance to markets:
 
Social-ecological fit:
Low (1)
Governance knowledge use:
["Scientific knowledge"]
Scientific knowledge is used exclusively to govern appropriation of toothfish and develop regulations.
Governance system spatial extent:
 
Horizontal coordination:
 

Environmental Commons

Name:
Macquarie Island Royal Penguin
details
Productivity:
Moderately Productive (2)
The royal penguin has in the past supported a commercial harvest mostly for oil. At its peak approximately 150,000 Royal (and King) penguins were harvested and did not appear to substantially affect stocks.
Commons aggregation:
Population
Royal penguin are a species of penguin closely related to the more common and widely distributed Macaroni Penguin.
Biotic:
Yes
Commons unit size:
Small (2)
Commons mobility:
High (3)
Royal penguins on Macquarie island have been known to travel up to 600 km to forage during the nesting season; travelling at speeds of between 4.6 and 7.8 km/h
Commons spatial extent:
2000000
This rough estimate is derived from estimates by the Australian Antarctic Division and refers to areas used by penguins for feeding. Breeding is confined to Macquarie Island and the nearby Bishop and Clerk Islets.
Environmental medium:
Oceanic
Feeds on the ocean; but reproduces on land.
Commons heterogeneity:
Moderate (2)
During the breeding season the entire population of Royal penguins is concentrated in and around Macquarie Island; however they are more widely dispersed and patchy during the polar winter.
Intra annual predictability:
High (3)
There is little variation in population within years.
Inter annual predictability:
High (3)
Populations have remained stable; and annual breeding on Macquarie island allows for fairly accurate estimates of population size, although some breeding grounds are more difficult to access.
Technical substitute:
Yes
Penguin oil fell out of fashion in the early 1900's due to public condemnation as well as the availability of cheaper chemical substitutes.
Commons boundaries:
Somewhat unclear boundaries (2)
Breeding boundaries are clear as they maintain high site fidelity to Macquarie island. However, less is known about their specific location and boundaries during the polar winter.
Commons renewability:
Renewable (1)
Commons accessibility:
Somewhat accessible (2)
The resource is accessible with modern forms of transportation, however, its vast distance from markets means that transportation costs might outweigh the benefits of harvesting and other activities.
Commons indicator:
["Ecosystem health and/or biodiversity"]
The Royal Penguin is used as an indicator of ecosystem health because they breed exclusively on Macquarie island; and thus are highly sensitive to changes in the quality of the ecosystem. However, between the months of approximately April to September they are found in the Open Ocean feeding on the polar front.
Name:
Light Mantled Albatross
details
Productivity:
Not Applicable
Commons aggregation:
Population
The light mantled albatross is a species of albatross found throughout the circumpolar region.
Biotic:
Yes
Commons unit size:
Small (2)
Wingspan can be over 2 meters; and they typically weigh between 2.5 and 4 kilograms.
Commons mobility:
High (3)
Light mantled albatross have been known to travel up to 1500 km from breeding sites to forage; and a total distance of over 6000km (Weimerskirch & Robertson 1994).
Commons spatial extent:
1700000
Estimates suggest that birds from Macquarie island forage on average 1516 km from the island in the direction of Antarctica. Assuming a radius of 750km this corresponds to a total spatial extent of 1.7 million sq km, but species occurs in areas up to 44.3 million sq km. This estimate should be taken as the minimum spatial extent and values likely exceed this number considerably.
Environmental medium:
Oceanic
Nests on land; but spends a considerable amount of lifecycle foraging in the open ocean and coastal areas.
Commons heterogeneity:
High (3)
High site fidelity to breeding site (low heterogeneity); but for much of life cycle are distributed widely.
Intra annual predictability:
Missing
Not enough information to assess intra annual predictability.
Inter annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Availability across years is somewhat unpredictable because they are biennial breeders and do not return each year. Further, breeding sites are on remote and difficult to access subantarctic islands. At many of these islands, scientists are not able to collect data regularly and often the actual location of the nests can be difficult to access. Estimates suggest that the population at Macquarie might be more predictable than others and also that its more stable. Other sites exhibit considerable variability or uncertainty. For example, the population at Heard Island has been estimated at 200-500 nesting pairs, but its difficult for scientists to find all of the nests and the birds often nest in new and different areas. Note that the last survey of this species at Macquarie was conducted in 2005 (ACAP 2012) and at Heard Island in 2003/04 season (Green and Woehler 2006).
Technical substitute:
 
Does not serve an important or valued economic function
Commons boundaries:
Somewhat unclear boundaries (2)
The general boundaries are fairly well defined to include the circumpolar region; but they are somewhat fuzzy at the margins.
Commons renewability:
Renewable (1)
Commons accessibility:
Somewhat accessible (2)
Light-mantled albatross are not currently targeted by human harvesting efforts. However, they overlap with Antarctic species and may be taken as bycatch by tuna and toothfish fishers. They represented 6% of total seabird bycatch by tuna longliners between 1988-1997 in New Zealand (ACAP 2012), but less so in recent years. The Macquarie Island toothfish fisheries had zero seabird by catch (as of 2013), and the HIMI fisheries reported only 3 seabirds overall (none of which were light mantled albatross).
Commons indicator:
["Status of highly migratory species"]
The light mantled albatross is a migratory seabird found in the circumpolar region of Antarctica. Birds breed on sub-Antarctic islands such as Macquarie island and forage on average up to 1,500 km south from breeding sites with a total distance travelled of over 6,000km in 10-15 days (Weimerskirch & Robertson 1994). Total distribution size has been estimated at 12,600 km-2 (BirdLife Fact Sheet 2014). Used as a highly migratory species indicator for Macquarie and Heard and McDonald Islands due to its prevalence at both locations. Compared to the estimated population size of this species (19,000-24,000 breeding pairs), a significant proportion of the population breeds at Macquarie (~1250 pairs) and Heard (200-500 pairs).
Name:
Patagonian Toothfish
details
Productivity:
Poorly productive (1)
Toothfish are not a highly productive fish. Like many deep dwelling fish, their life history characteristics make them vulnerable to overexploitation. They grow relatively slowly, live up to 50 years and mature later in life (10-13 years of age for females; 6-10 years for males). There is also evidence that toothfish may not spawn every year, leading to lower overall fecundity (see Collins et al. 2010 and references therein). Many populations are able to support small commercial fisheries (e.g., 1000-3000 tonnes/year), while others were quickly overexploited in the mid 1990s and early 200s from IUU fishing and have yet to recovery (e.g., BANZARE Bank; McKinlay et al. 2008).
Commons aggregation:
Population
Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) are a species of fish with a broad circum-Antarctic distribution, largely found off the tip of South America and around subantarctic islands, including Macquarie Island and the Heard and McDonald Islands. There appear to be distinct populations in the South Indian Ocean (including fish found around the Heard and McDonald Islands, Crozet, Kerguelen, Prince Edward and Marion Islands), the South Atlantic (including fish found around South Georgia, North Scotia Ridge), the Patagonian Shelf, and a distinct stock off Macquarie (see Collins et al. 2010, Appleyard 2002, Appleyard 2004).
Biotic:
Yes
Commons unit size:
Medium (3)
Toothfish can reach a weights greater than 200 kg and lengths over 2.3 meters (see e.g., Collins et al. 2010). The size of captured fish are, however, somewhat smaller and are generally gear-dependent. Trawl fishers tend to capture younger smaller fish (around 1 meter in length); while longline operators capture older larger fish (< one meter in length).
Commons mobility:
Medium (2)
Toothfish are capable of moving between large distances, but the vast majority tend to be resident in a small area, with some but limited movements to nearby areas (see Collins et al. 2010 and references therein). For example, 99% of the fish tagged and recaptured around the Heard and McDonald Islands were found (1-3 years later) within 30 km of where they were originally tagged. However, some fish were found more than 1800 km away (Williams et al. 2002).
Commons spatial extent:
 
Patagonian toothfish are distributed throughout the Southern Ocean and are concentrated around sea mounts, continental shelves and islands. There are several different stocks including those found around Macquarie Island and HIMI. Individual toothfish are for the most part residents of a relatively small geographical area although some undergo extensive migrations (MSC 2012)
Environmental medium:
Oceanic
Commons heterogeneity:
Moderate (2)
Patagonian toothfish have a broad circum-Antarctic distribution, but they appear to have a patchy rather than continuous distribution with distinct and potentially isolated populations. Populations seem to be concentrated around islands (e.g., South Georgia) and banks (e.g., Kerguelen Plateau) with the vast deep areas of the Southern Ocean acting to isolate and restrict these populations (see Collins et al. 2010 and references therein). Macquarie Island Patagonian Toothfish tend to be concentrated in two fishing grounds around Macquarie Island; the Aurora Trough and Macquarie Ridge. None of these fishing grounds are within the Macquarie Island Marine Park.
Intra annual predictability:
Low (1)
Note that most toothfish fisheries operate in a limited window of time (usually over the course of a few months), thus the scientific information on toothfish is largely based on an annual snapshot with very little information gathered about toothfish during the rest of the year. As a result, there are still major gaps in the life history knowledge of toothfish. For example, for many populations, their reproductive and spawning cycle (which usually happens in the winter between June and September, while some fisheries only operate in the summer) is not well understood. For some populations of toothfish, their reproductive cycle involves spawning migrations and there is increasing evidence that mature individuals may not spawn every year (i.e. exhibiting skip spawning). Despite these gaps in their intrannual cycle, tag-recapture studies suggest that most toothfish stay close by to where they were caught (e.g., in the HIMI fishery 99% of recaptured tagged fish were caught within 30km of where they were first caught and tagged 1-3 years prior), some individual fish travel great distances (e.g., in the HIMI fishery, some fish traveled up to 1850 km from where they were caught; see Collins et al. 2010 and references therein).
Inter annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Most know Patagonian toothfish populations have been targeted in commercial fisheries on an annual basis since the mid to late 1990s and can predictably be caught from year to year. Genetic, otolith chemistry and parasite fauna studies all suggest that there are distinct populations of toothfish (one in the South Indian Ocean, one in the Atlantic sector, one off of Patagonia, and one around Macquarie; See Collins et al. 2010 and references therein). Further, tag-recapture studies indicate that most individual toothfish within a stock stays close by from year to year. For example, in the Heard and McDonald Islands (HIMI) fishery, 99% of recaptured toothfish were caught within 30 km of where they were tagged 1-3 years prior (Williams et al. 2002). However, in most stocks there are individuals that also exhibit vast travels. For example, in the HIMI fishery, some fish were recaptured up to 1850 km away (on the Crozet Plateau; Williams et al. 2002).
Technical substitute:
No
Commons boundaries:
Somewhat unclear boundaries (2)
Depending on the toothfish population, boundaries are more or less clear. For example, boundaries for the Macquarie Island stock appear fairly clear since the vast majority of toothfish spend their whole lifecycle in the water around Macquarie Island (based on genetics and tag-recapture studies in which mover than 99% of recaptures were from the Macquarie population; MSC 2012). Note that at Macquarie, there is some movement of toothfish between the Southern and Northern fishing grounds; as well as a smaller but limited movement into areas governed by CCAMLR. For other toothfish stocks, the boundaries are less clear. For example, the South Indian Ocean population appears to occupy a rather large range over the Kerguelen Plateau and out to the Prince Edward Islands, but the boundaries of this population's distribution are still unknown (see Collins et al. 2010 and references therein).
Commons renewability:
Renewable (1)
Toothfish are a renewable resource, but are still subject to overexploitation because of their life history characteristics (e.g., slow growth, long-lived, later to mature).
Commons accessibility:
Somewhat accessible (2)
The fish are accessible as a result of the availability of ocean-going vessels that can process and store Patagonian toothfish for eventual sale on international markets (especially the US and Japan).
Commons indicator:
["Status of species targeted by fisheries"]

Component Interactions

Governance Interaction

Macquarie Island Light Mantled Albatross Conservation

2001-01-01 - ongoing
Coded: 2014-12-31

Governing Organization:
Australian Fisheries Management Authority (Actor)
Governing Organization:
Macquarie Island Managers (Actor)
Primary:
Light Mantled Albatross (Environmental Common)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan (Governance System)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery Management Plan (Governance System)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Marine Park Management Plan (Governance System)
Commons User:
Australian Toothfish Fishers (Actor)

Governance Interaction

Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery

2001-01-01 - ongoing
Coded: 2014-12-12

Primary:
Patagonian Toothfish (Environmental Common)
Commons User:
Australian Toothfish Fishers (Actor)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery Management Plan (Governance System)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan (Governance System)
Governing Organization:
Australian Fisheries Management Authority (Actor)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Marine Park Management Plan (Governance System)

Governance Interaction

Macquarie Island Royal Penguins

2001-01-01 - ongoing
Coded: 2014-12-12

Governs:
Macquarie Island Nature Reserve Management Plan (Governance System)
Primary:
Macquarie Island Royal Penguin (Environmental Common)
Governs:
Macquarie Island Marine Park Management Plan (Governance System)
Governing Organization:
Macquarie Island Managers (Actor)

Studies

Parks and Wildlife Service 2006, Macquarie Island Nature Reserve and World Heritage Area Management Plan, Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment, Hobart, Tasmania


Environment Australia.  2001.  Macquarie Island Marine Park Management Plan. Canberra, Australia: 70pp.


Hull, C. L., Hindell, M. A., & Michael, K. (1997). Foraging zones of royal penguins during the breeding season, and their association with oceanographic features. Oceanographic Literature Review, 12(44), 1533.


AFMA.  2012.  Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery: Annual Status Report April 2012.  Canberra, Australia: 27pp.  


Hull, C. L. (1999). Comparison of the diets of breeding royal (Eudyptes schlegeli) and rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome) penguins on Macquarie Island over three years. Journal of Zoology, 247(4), 507-529.


Knuckey, I., Lack, M. M., & Body, A. C. (2012). MSC Final Report Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery.


Weimerskirch, H., and G. Robertson. "Satellite tracking of light-mantled sooty albatrosses." Polar Biology 14.2 (1994): 123-126.


COLTO. Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators. http://www.colto.org. Accessed September 3, 2015. 


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