Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The growth and management of
fishing through
CCAMLR
Article VI of the Antarctic Treaty states that nothing in the Treaty 'shall
…
affect the rights
…
.Inpracticethismeans
that with regards to the seas south of 60
S the ATCPs have dealt with questions by means
of separate Conventions, with independent rati
of any State ... with regard to the high seas within that area
'
cation and accession procedures.
cant seal hunting in the Antarctic since the nineteenth
century. It was therefore easy for the ATCPs to develop the Convention for the
Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS), which was signed in London on 1 June
1972 and entered into force in 1978. So far, there has been little activity connected
with this Convention.
The conclusion of CCAS, dealing with a High Seas resource, was part of the
background for the consideration of a much broader and important issue, namely
exploitation of krill and other marine resources. Both krill and trial
There has been no signi
fishing had
started up in the Southern Ocean in the 1960s, krill harvesting grew rapidly, and
there were indications that some stocks were over
shed. In line with their
precautionary approach, the ATCPs pushed for acquiring knowledge in order to
regulate for sustainable exploitation. SCAR developed the BIOMASS programme in
1976, which together with other reports demonstrated the critical role of krill in the
ecosystem. Clearly unchecked harvesting of krill could have grave impacts on
whale, seal and bird populations.
The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(CCAMLR) was signed in Canberra on 20 May 1980 and entered into force in 1982.
It provided for the conservation and rational use of krill,
fish and other marine
living resources in the Convention area. It did not cover whales and seals, for which
there were other regulations in place already. There were 34 Parties to the
Convention in 2011, including several who are not Parties to the Antarctic Treaty
(Cook Islands, Mauritius, Namibia, Vanuatu and the European Union). All the
original signatories to the Treaty are also members of the Convention.
The Convention area is not the same as that of the Antarctic Treaty, as the area is
n
de
ned as being south of the Antarctic Convergence (Polar Front). This is a natural
boundary between the cold waters of the Southern Ocean and the warmer waters to
the north, and thus is also a boundary between different ecosystems. For long
stretches the Convergence lies north of the 60th Parallel.
An innovative feature of CCAMLR is its ecosystem approach, which is based
on evidence from marine biologists. In the evaluation of whether a species can be
exploited the effect on its dependent species must also be considered. A great deal
of scienti
c and technical work is done under the Convention, which is led by a
commission with a scienti
c advisory body. It has its Secretariat in Hobart, Australia.
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