Aim We assessed the validity of the division of the Magellanic Province into the four provinces as proposed by Briggs & Bowen (J Biogeogr 39 12–30, 2012): Southern Chile, Tierra del Fuego, Southern Argentina and Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. We aimed to (a) present an updated list of the fishes from the region known as ‘Magellanic Province’, (b) analyse the specific richness of fishes in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors and their degree of endemism and (c) evaluate statistically the validity of the three Provinces proposed for the Atlantic sector. Location Southern tip of the American continent at latitudes higher than 40° S in the Atlantic as well as in the Pacific Oceans. Taxon 348 South American marine fish species. Methods The list of fishes was prepared by consulting more than 140 sources, many related to observations resulting from research cruises, although two ichthyological collections and two ichthyological websites were also used. The South American species with distributions extending outside of the area corresponding to the Magellanic Province, and all cosmopolitan species, were excluded of endemism analyses. For analysing fish distributions in the Atlantic sector, the data employed are from eight research cruises carried out from 1978 to 2006 from 37° to 55° south. A total of 523 fishing trawls have been analysed, grouped into cell of 1° × 1° cells. The species composition of each cell was evaluated by multivariate analysis (non‐metric multidimensional scaling, cluster and similarity analyses). Results The percentage of endemism in each sector (Atlantic 2.87% and Pacific 2.87%) is smaller than the endemism common to both sectors (9.2%). The total of endemic species in the Province is 14.94%, which is bigger than the 10% indicated as the lower limit for defining a biogeographic province suggested by Briggs (Marine Zoogeography, 1974). In addition, multivariate analyses do not show differences in the species composition, neither between Falkland (Malvinas) Islands and ‘Southern Argentina’ nor between the latter and Tierra del Fuego. Main conclusions The ichthyological data indicate only one biogeographic province in the region not four as previously posited.

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SUMMARY:Delta-based estimates of longtail hake biomass off Argentina were derived from the results of summer trawl surveys carried out on an irregular basis since 1987. Annual estimates of biomass within the whole area ranged from 1.2 to 4.5 million tons, consistent with those obtained by sequential population analysis. There was no clear trend throughout the period 1987-1995, but the 1987 estimate was higher than those for the same area during the years 1992-1995, and estimates since 1997 were much higher than the mean for the four-year period 1992-1995. Since 1992 the largest concentrations of fish have been between 50 and 100 m deep. Most of those were adults, small fish being scarce. Analysis of numbers-at-age showed the dominance of 4-8 year old fish in 1987 and from 1992 to 1994 and the existence of two very strong year-classes, those of 1993 and 1995.