Managing Antarctic Marine Living Resources: The CCAMLR Approach

Abstract

AbstractThis paper documents the experiences of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in developing, and implementing, its fisheries conservation and management measures. Examples are given to show how the provisions of Article II of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention) have been applied in practice. Generally, these provisions strive for an ecosystem-based and precautionary approach to the management of harvested and non-harvested species. Emphasis is given to the development of management measures to deal with: (a) uncertainty associated with new and exploratory fisheries, (b) reduction and elimination (i.e.minimisation) of seabird bycatch in longline fisheries, (c) trade-related measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on CCAMLR species, and (d) general environmental protection. CCAMLR's achievements are evaluated, potential threats to its future effectiveness are identified and some possible counteractions are offered.