Marine predators feeding on fisheries catches directly on the fishing gear, a behaviour termed “depredation”, has emerged as a major human-wildlife conflict globally, often resulting in substantial socio-economic and ecological impacts. This study investigated the extent of this conflict in commercial Patagonian toothfish ( Dissostichus eleginoides ) fisheries across subantarctic waters where both killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) and sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) feed on toothfish caught on longline hooks. Using long-term datasets from six major fishing areas, from southern Chile to the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean, statistical models were developed to quantify the catch removals due to whale depredation interactions. The results indicated that these removals were large, totalling more than 6600 t of toothfish between 2009 and 2016 with an annual mean of 837 t [95% CI 480–1195 t], comprised of 317 t [232–403 t] and 518 t [247–790 t] removed by killer whales and sperm whales, respectively. Catch removals greatly varied between areas, with the largest estimates found at Crozet, where on average 279 t [179–379 t] of toothfish per year, equivalent to 30% [21–37%] of the total catches. Together, these findings provide metrics to assess the impacts of depredation interactions on the fishing industry, whale populations, fish stocks and associated ecosystems. With an estimated $15 M USD worth of fish depredated every year, this study highlights the large geographic scale and economic significance of the depredation issue and its potential to compromise the viability of some toothfish fisheries which are the primary socio-economic activity in subantarctic regions.

中文翻译：

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评估齿鲸掠夺对广泛亚南极渔业的社会生态系统和渔业管理的影响

以渔业捕捞为食的海洋捕食者直接使用渔具捕食，这种行为被称为“掠夺”，已成为全球范围内主要的人类与野生动物冲突，通常会造成重大的社会经济和生态影响。本研究调查了这种冲突在巴塔哥尼亚牙鱼 (Dissostichus eleginoides) 渔业中的冲突程度，在亚南极水域，虎鲸 (Orcinus orca) 和抹香鲸 (Physeter macrocephalus) 都以延绳钓钩捕获的牙鱼为食。使用来自智利南部到南大洋印度洋地区的六个主要捕鱼区的长期数据集，开发了统计模型来量化由于鲸鱼掠夺相互作用而导致的捕捞量减少。结果表明，这些去除量很大，2009 年至 2016 年间总计超过 6600 吨牙鱼，年平均为 837 吨 [95% CI 480-1195 吨]，其中包括 317 吨 [232-403 吨] 和 518 吨 [247-790 吨] 被杀手清除分别是鲸鱼和抹香鲸。不同地区的捕捞量差异很大，最大的估计是在克罗泽特发现，平均每年 279 吨 [179-379 吨] 牙鱼，相当于总捕捞量的 30% [21-37%]。总之，这些发现提供了评估捕食相互作用对渔业、鲸鱼种群、鱼类种群和相关生态系统的影响的指标。据估计，每年价值 1500 万美元的鱼类被掠夺，