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In May 1996 the biological oceanography of the main yellowfin tuna longline fishing waters off southern New South Wales, Australia, was examined in relation to the catch by the fishery. A warm-core eddy was identified directly east of Eden with a temperature at 250 m depth of 15˚C. At the western edge of this eddy, relatively high levels of fluorescence (chlorophyll a) were recorded together with pigments typical of diatoms, a feature of upwelling communities. The biomass of zooplankton and micronekton was also significantly higher at the western edge of the eddy. Similarly, acoustic data showed relatively high concentrations of backscatter at the margins of the eddy, particularly at the shelf break and slope. These areas had the greatest potential prey biomass; a fact supported by the presence of shelf-and slope-associated prey species in the stomachs of yellowfin tuna caught at the same time. Fishery data for …