abstract
The Administration of Le Terretoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises (TAAF), through SASCAR, invited our participation in their scientific programme during cruise MD08 of the Marion Dufresne. This report summarises the nature and extent of the South African contribution to the joint research programme, which was an investigation of the fauna around the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward islands, and observations on the distribution and abundance of seabirds in the south-western sector of the Indian Ocean.