Preliminary description of the overlap between squid fisheries and VMEs on the high seas of the Patagonian Shelf

Between November 2007 and April 2009, the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO, Spanish Institute of Oceanography), together with the Spanish Secretaría General del Mar (SGM, General Secretariat for the Sea), undertook a series of eleven multidisciplinary research cruises to study Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) on the high seas (HS) of the South West Atlantic. Two of these cruises, conducted during the austral late summer and early autumn of 2008 and 2009, focused on the status of the main commercial stocks and the interactions of fishing activities with VMEs. Two main cephalopod species (Illex argentinus and Loligo gahi) are targeted by the Spanish bottom trawl fishery in this area. This paper presents preliminary results of those cruises, describing spatial distribution and abundance of both cephalopod species, geomorphologic, benthic and hydrographical characteristics of the study area, as well as possible interactions between anthropogenic activities and VMEs. The detected presence of vulnerable organisms is almost negligible in the area where fishing activities take place.