Prince Edward Islands - Exploitation

Exploitation of the islands began in the 1800s when fur seals were harvested for their pelts. As the population declined, elephant seals were taken for blubber to supplement income and it is also believed that the King Penguins may have been taken. By the 1930s the seal fishery was considered no longer economically viable and sealing ceased. The fur seal population has since recovered and has now reached what is believed to be pre-exploitation numbers.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the discovery of Patagonian Toothfish stocks in the Southern Ocean lead to extensive Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. It is believed that fishing of the stocks around the PEIs began in the early to mid 1990s and an estimated 20 000t is thought to have been removed in the initial phase of the fishery, resulting in a rapid decline and collapse of the fishery (Brandao et al. 2002). IUU fishing is reported to no longer be an issue, but the catch (landed weight) for the fishery is currently low (less than 100t for the 2008/09 season, CCAMLR Report 2010, Appendix R) and annual allowed quotas (Total Allowable Catch or TACs) in recent years have not been filled. Associated by-catch of birds during the initial phase of the fishery was high, but following introduction of mitigation measures has since been substantially reduced (CCAMLR Report 2010, Appendix R).