Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina Linn.) depredate toothfish longlines in the midnight zone.

ABSTRACT: Humans have devised fishing technologies that compete with marine predators for fish resources world-wide. One such fishery for the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) has developed interactions with a range of predators, some of which are marine mammals capable of diving to extreme depths for extended periods. A deep-sea camera system deployed within a toothfish fishery operating in the Southern Ocean acquired the first-ever video footage of an extreme-diver, the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), depredating catch from longlines set at depths in excess of 1000m. The interactions recorded were non-lethal, however independent fisheries observer reports confirm elephant seal-longline interactions can be lethal. The seals behaviour of depredating catch at depth during the

SUBMITTER: van den Hoff J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5325274 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature