Prince Edward Islands - Geographic Area

The Prince Edward Archipelago consists of two islands, Marion and Prince Edward which are found at a latitude of 46º45'S and longitude of 37º50’E. The islands are separated by a narrow shelf which is approximately 200 m in depth and drops off to depths in excess of 3000 m. The islands fall in the path of the easterly flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) the northern boundary of which is the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF) and its’ southern boundary is the Antarctic Polar Front (APF). These frontal features are well defined though they are dynamic and variable and their latitudinal positions have been shown to vary by more than 100 km in relatively short periods of time (weeks). Bottom topography plays an important role in the flow of the water; the hydrodynamics in the vicinity of the islands is complex with eddies having been observed upstream and downstream of the islands. Water trapping in the lee of the islands has been observed and an island mass effect has been documented with island associated blooms occurring seasonally.

There is a fishery for the Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) which is managed at the scale of the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ of radius 370.4 km centered on the islands, total area approximately 431 014km2) by South Africa. For fisheries reporting statistics, the EEZ includes Fisheries and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations areas 51, 58.7, 58.6 and Division 58.4.4, and a large part of these areas fall into the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) area (CCAMLR 2010).

FAO Fishing Areas:  [ 51 ; 58.7 ; 58.6 ; 58.4.4 ]