Mauricio Mardones, the doctoral researcher at the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) and the Millennium BASE Institute, who was awarded a scholarship from the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), aims to develop a stock assessment model for the krill fishery.
The doctoral researcher of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), Millennium BASE Institute, IDEAL Center, and the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP), Mauricio Mardones, was awarded a scholarship from the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). With this scholarship, the Scientific Committee of the Commission and its working groups hope to encourage young scientists to research areas that interest them.
As Mauricio Mardones pointed out, the objective of his project is to advance in quantitative methodologies to know the krill population dynamics and its management approach, which is currently being discussed in the CCAMLR Scientific Commission. “It is an excellent opportunity to learn more about this important fishery in a high-latitude ecosystem context and as a great academic and scientific challenge that must be lived up to”.
“The chance to work with researchers from INACH and the Antarctic Department of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States (NOAA), is very relevant to my doctoral project because these groups are developing high-level science about krill and its fishery in the Southern Ocean. These interactions will improve the quality of academic and scientific work. In turn, it would allow me to better understand and contribute to the fisheries management of this important species of the Antarctic ecosystem”, said Mauricio.
Mauriciois a marine biologist from the University of Concepción (UdeC) and, currently, is working on his PhD in Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Sciences at the University of Magallanes (UMAG). He is supervised by Dr. César Cárdenas, a researcher at the Chilean Antarctic Institute and the BASE Millennium Institute. This project is being developed in the context of Antarctic fisheries, specifically in terms of stock assessment, management, and climatic context.
The scholarship will be used to participate in meetings of the Working Groups of the CCAMLR during 2023-2024, one month of work at INACH and two months of internship with NOAA Antarctic Department researchers in La Jolla, California, United States.
“The work Mauricio intends to do is an extremely relevant investigation; it is perfectly framed in the discussions that have taken place in the CCAMLR Scientific Committee since 2019, related to the new management strategy for the krill fishery. In this way, people have been talking about how important it is to evaluate this strategy once it is implemented. “Mauricio’s expertise in evaluating resources in Chile drew him to this topic”, said Dr César Cárdenas.
by Constanza Barrientos and Harry Díaz
Translation by Catlina Ovando
Main photography: BASE Millennium Institute/ C. Barrientos
