CCAMLR

The Ross Sea Shelf Ecosystem (RSShelfE) offers the last chance to understand ecological processes in a system where both top-down and bottom-up forcing are still intact. Elsewhere in Earth’s oceans the systems used for understanding ecological processes and fishery effects all have lacked significant, natural top-down forcing for such a long time that it is a concept rarely considered by researchers who currently investigate open-ocean systems. Herein, the importance of top-down forcing in pelagic and neritic marine ecosystems is reviewed with concrete evidence given for its existence in the current functioning of the RSShelfE. In spite of this unique evidence for the Antarctic region, much remains to be learned about cross-component interactions in the Ross Sea system. Should the RSShelfE be un-naturally altered, an easy accomplishment given increasing fishery pressure, we will have lost the last opportunity to understand the processes that take place in a healthy, complete marine ecosystem.

At the 2003 meeting of the Commission, the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Advisory Subgroup on Protected Areas were endorsed by the Commission (CCAMLR XXII (paragraph 4.26). One task, which was directed to the intersessional work of the Subgroup, was TOR (ii) “to revise and keep under review, as appropriate, guidelines for the production of maps of protected areas relevant to CCAMLR”. The following revision of Conservation measure 91- 01, Annex 91-01/A (2000) addresses the topic of maps. Changes were made to section A2 (Maps).
The Subgroup on Area Protection has had the opportunity to review the map guidelines produced by the Antarctic Treaty’s Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) entitled “Guidance Notes for Producing Maps for Inclusion in Management Plans” (Report of CEP-1 Appendix 3). These guidelines provided an excellent framework for map production and were used as a starting point. Also, other items specific to CEMP sites and marine areas were included in the following revision of guidelines. The revision of the CEMP site mapping guidelines includes, for example, the addition of recommendations for including or identifying specific essential map and topographical features, natural features, anthropogenic features, boundary delineation, and general guidelines for improving map quality (i.e., verifying boundaries using GPS, using SCAR approved legend symbols, etc.).

Last year we established a new, dedicated database to archive research survey data submitted to CCAMLR. This database is ‘event-driven’ – i.e. each survey can be characterized by a series of events (eg trawl, CTD, acoustic etc) and each event has a set of measurements (eg amount caught, conductivity at depth, density estimate etc). The development of the trawl survey components has been reported to WG-FSA, and progress on archiving the acoustic data is reported here. In addition to the developments to date, WG-FSA’s Subgroup on Fisheries Acoustics (WG-FSA-SFA) has discussed the possibility of archiving acoustic data from finfish surveys and this matter was further discussed at SC-CAMLR-XXII. The Secretariat has begun working with past and present conveners of WG-FSA-SFA to identify the group’s needs for data storage and analysis.

Correspondence on:
• Collaborative program by Ukraine and Bulgaria on research into gentoo penguin breeding biology at Vernadsky Station, Antarctic Peninsula (Ukraine) and Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands (Bulgaria) (see SC-CAMLR-XXII, Annex 4, paragraph 7.14);
• Notes on the collection of CEMP data at Bouvetøya.

UNEP-WCMC is developing further an approach for measuring and communicating trends in biodiversity captured in the Living Planet Index. The Index is based on average trends in populations of several hundred vertebrate species from around the world, and UNEP is interested in including CCAMLR data on Antarctic species.
Correspondence between UNEP staff and the Secretariat is reported and WG-EMM’s advice is sought on the matter.

Compilation of information and work pertaining to the krill fisheries in CCAMLR waters is presented, including:
• A report on catches for the last, complete season (2002/03) and an update on catches for the current season (2003/04);
• Measures of overlap between the krill fishery and krill predators;
• A revised plan for the krill fishery in Area 48.

The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program uses indices derived from data on indicator species and the environment collected by standard methods within the three Integrated Study Regions of the Convention Area. Each year the Secretariat updates the standardised index values and provides a summary of trends and anomalies in these data. In addition, developments during the intersessional period are reported.

A history of development and completion of tasks put forward by WG-EMM is summarised for the period from 2001 to 2003 (SC-CAMLR-XXI, Annex 4, paragraph 6.41). This is a new series of records since the adoption by WG-EMM in 2001 of a new five-year plan of work. A history of tasks for the period from 1995 to 2001 is archived in WG-EMM-02/12.

While much remains unknown about seamount communities, scientific evidence suggests that high seas bottom trawling may have significant and irreversible impacts on the diversity and ecology of seamounts and other similar hard bottom communities.

Summary Tables of existing, and some proposed, Antarctic protected areas which contain marine habitat.