Patagonian Toothfish

Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, is a deep-water, demersal species which is found on sub-Antarctic continental shelves down to 3 000 metres. Several countries can lay claim to Patagonian toothfish which occur within the exclusive economic zones ("EEZ's") of Chile, Argentina and many other countries with sovereignty over the southern Ocean islands. South Africa's EEZ around the Prince Edward Islands ("PEI") is a prime fishing ground for Patagonian toothfish. Much of the range of Patagonian toothfish falls within the high seas.

Patagonian toothfish live for over 50 years and reach a length of over two metres. Maturity is attained between six and nine years of age, equivalent to a length range of 70 to 95 centimetres. Spawning occurs on continental shelves in winter, but eggs only hatch in spring.

Global catches of Patagonian toothfish have declined sharply since the origins of the fishery in the late 1980s. A combination of its high value, late maturity and occurrence in the high seas has caused the near-collapse of the fishery, which has seen unprecedented levels of illegal, unregulated and unreported ("IUU") fishing. South Africa's waters around the Prince Edward Islands were extensively targeted and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ("CCAMLR") estimates that as much as 32000 tons of toothfish, with a value of US$100 million was illegally fished from the PEI-EEZ between 1996 and 1998. Patagonian toothfish are caught by trawl and by longline. The latter method has had a disastrous impact on seabirds, particularly albatross and petrels.

The harvesting of Patagonian toothfish has been authorised by South Africa since 1996. Following the promulgation of the Marine Living Resources Act in 1998, the fishery has been regulated as an experimental fishery under section 83. In 1996, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism issued five experimental permits (under the Sea Fisheries Act of 1988) for the harvesting of Patagonian toothfish within the EEZ of the Prince Edward Islands ("the PEI-EEZ"). Since then, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has set annual total allowable catches ("TAC") for this fishery. The TAC for the 1996/1997 fishing season was set at 3000 tons. However, the TAC for the experimental toothfish fishery has declined steadily and was set at 500 tons for the 2003/2004 fishing season. It is currently set at 450 tons.

The Prince Edward Islands are situated within the jurisdiction of the CCAMLR Convention Area. South Africa is a founding member of CCAMLR, which is the regional fishery management organisation tasked with primarily monitoring and allocating catching rights for Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters. Patagonian toothfish have been targeted by poachers as toothfish is a sought after white fish on Asian and North American markets. Patagonian toothfish is a high value white fish that fetches prices as high as US$13 000 per ton. It is the fish's high value that has contributed to the high levels of IUU fishing in the fishery.

Poaching in the PEI-EEZ has been brought under control. The fishery remains commercially sustainable provided that it is effectively regulated with participants in terms of the Guidelines determined by CCAMLR. The fishery is a high-risk, extremely capital-intensive fishery that requires right-holders to make substantial investments in vessels, gear, research and marketing. Start-up costs would require a capital investment of several million rand and operational costs are substantial.

Sector Facts (FOR SECTOR DETAILS PLEASE EMAIL FEIKE AT ssonday@feike.co.za)



Sector Challenges: Feike's analysis of the allocation of rights and policy objectives for this fishery indicates the following challenges:

• Regularly reporting on vessel activity in the Southern Oceans, particularly in SA's EEZ, thereby complementing government compliance initiatives;
• The continued delay by Marine and Coastal Management to declare a Marine Protected Area around the Prince Edward Islands;
• Preparing for performance measuring exercises, particularly in light of the fact that 4 of the five right holders do not intend spending significant amounts of time in the SA EEZ, which is a policy objective;
• Mitigating effectively the high rates of bird loss due to long lining;
• Maintaining the economic and environmental viability of the fishery over the long term;
• Increasing not only black ownership of the TAC through "internal transformation" but also focusing increasingly on the empowerment of staff and women.

Sector Opportunities: Feike believes that the allocation of long-term rights will provide the Patagonian toothfish fishery with the following opportunities:

• Strategic co-management relationships with Marine and Coastal Management, particularly with respect to research, management (particularly bird loss mitigation measures) and compliance;
• The nature of this fishery (small number of right holders having to compete internationally in a fishery that has a reducing TAC) should lend itself to being an ideal test case for introducing a system of Individually Transferable Quotas (ITQ's).