The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also known as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the

Antarctic Treaty System The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms ...

. The convention was opened for signature on 1 August 1980 and entered into force on 7 April 1982 by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, headquartered in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The goal is to preserve

marine life Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

and environmental integrity in and near

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. It was established in large part to concerns that an increase in krill catches in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

could have a serious impact on populations of other marine life which are dependent upon krill for food. In 1989, CCAMLR set up the Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) to further monitor the effects of fishing and harvesting of species in the area. On 19 October 2022,

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

became a New Member of the Commission, the 26th member state of the CCAMLR.

Member states

Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Map

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

In 2009, the Commission agreed by consensus to creating a representative network of MPAs by 2012. It was the first international body to do this based on recommendations from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

World Summit on Sustainable Development. In 2011, it identified nine planning domains within which to designate these protected areas.

South Orkneys MPA

In 2009, the Commission agreed by consensus to establish the world's first high-seas MPA to protect ocean surrounding the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. It was proposed by the United Kingdom and covers 94,000 km2. It came into force in May 2010.

Ross Sea MPA

In 2010, a proposal for an MPA in the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

were put forward by both the US and New Zealand. These were later combined as a joint proposal. In July 2013, the Commission held a special meeting in

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

to consider proposals for MPAs in both the Ross Sea and East Antarctica. Consensus was not reached after

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

voted against the proposals, citing uncertainty about whether the commission had the authority to establish a protected area. On 28 October 2016, after several years of scientific and diplomatic discussions, the Commission agreed by consensus to designate the Ross Sea marine protected area at its annual meeting in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

. The protected area covers 1.55 million square kilometres of ocean, of which 72% is a no-take zone. The remaining 28% include some harvesting of fish and krill for the purpose of scientific research. The Ross Sea MPA will be in force for 35 years. At the end of its review period in 2052, CCAMLR Members must agree by consensus to renew or modify it as needed.

East Antarctic MPA

In 2010,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

submitted a proposal for an MPA in East Antarctica. It originally included seven representative areas with varying degrees of protection and covered 1.8 million square kilometres of ocean. By 2017, these were scaled back to three areas covering just under 1 million square kilometres. This was due to the political concerns and economic interests expressed by some Member states. The proposal was also amended to include an expiration of 30 years after designation and the ability to review its monitoring and management every ten years. It has been under consideration by the Commission since 2012.

References

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External links

Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living ResourcesCCAMLR Convention text
Antarctica agreements Cold War treaties Environmental treaties Fisheries treaties Treaties concluded in 1980 Treaties entered into force in 1982 1982 in Antarctica Environment of Antarctica 1982 in the environment Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Australia Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Brazil Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Canada Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of the Cook Islands Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of West Germany Treaties of Greece Treaties of India Treaties of Italy Treaties of Japan Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Namibia Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Norway Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of Peru Treaties of Panama Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of South Africa Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Ukraine Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of the United States Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Vanuatu Treaties entered into by the European Union Treaties of East Germany Animal treaties Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty International organisations based in Australia