Species profile of mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari)

Mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) has been exploited since the early 1970’s and became the target species of fisheries in many parts of the low-Antarctic from 1975 to 1990. Exploitation has been limited to South Georgia and Heard and McDonald Islands since the second half of the 1990’s with annual catches of a few thousand tonnes in each of the two areas. Aspect of the biology and exploitation of the species have been summarized in Kock and Everson (2003) and Kock (2005). Additional information is scattered over various CCAMLR working papers of the last 15 years. The species profile collates existing information on the taxonomy and biology of the species.