Monitoring krill larvae at the Weddell-Scotia confluence

Large concentrations of early (Calyptopes I to Furcilia III) larvae are consistently detected at the Weddell Scotia Confluence due to the presence of upwelling of larvae completing their developmental ascent. A number of quantitative variables reflect this phenomenon. As the position of the Confluence is fixed by the bottom topography interannual variability is geographicaly limited making possible to establish a monitoring programme aimed to evaluate the status of adult populations and recruitment strength. Monitoring would be based on net sampling and/or multibeam acoustics. This programme would be relatively easy to implement using research cruises and vessels of opportunity and will aid in discriminating between different factors affecting the CEMP parameters. Variables of interest are: density, size of larvae, median stage and the proportion of different stages in the catch.