The CCAMLR Commission and its Scientific Committee have some significant opportunities as they convene for their 30th annual meeting. One of the most important is fulfilling their commitment to meet the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) goal of designating a representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs) and Marine Reserves by 2012.1 The recent Workshop on Marine Protected Areas at the Institut Paul Emile Victor (IPEV) in Brest, France was held with this imminent deadline in mind. While there were many positive outcomes from the workshop, significant work remains to be done in a short time. Fortunately, as the report of the workshop recognizes, experience demonstrates that progress in developing MPAs can be achieved relatively quickly if there is a dedicated effort to do so. The key principles and concepts are straightforward, and supported by excellent, science-based papers put forward by various Members and NGOs to help create the initial system of MPAs and Marine Reserves. Adoption of a general Conservation Measure on MPAs at CCAMLR XXX should assist Members in the process of designation and management of MPAs in the future. Since CCAMLR began its serious consideration of marine spatial protection and management measures, ASOC has actively supported the process. This includes highlighting trends, international developments and best practice in the development and implementation of MPAs and Marine Reserves. In addition, ASOC contributed by bringing forward concrete scientific contributions to the identification of areas of the Southern Ocean where the implementation of MPAs could assist CCAMLR to achieve its objectives. ASOC is very supportive of the agreed 2012 goal, and hopes that all Members will work together over the next 14 months to ensure that it is met.  

Current Antarctic krill fishing practices have been deviating from historical fishing patterns, with catches concentrated recently in certain areas such as Subarea 48.1. Based on sea-ice reduction projections, concentrated catches in Subarea 48.1 during winter are expected to occur more frequently. The reproduction and survival of krill are significantly affected by sea ice cover. This is of concern since key spawning, recruitment and nursery areas of krill are located in the Southwest Atlantic sector, an area that has been warming rapidly, resulting in a reduction in the extent and duration of winter sea ice. CCAMLR needs to maintain a precautionary approach to krill fisheries management. The establishment of CM 51-07 – distributing the trigger limit among statistical subareas – was a step in the right direction. CCAMLR should retain CM 51-07 to avoid concentrating the catch in one sub-area as the trigger level is approached, reducing the risk of localized depletion of krill near predator colonies. Although the two-year experimental design of scientific observation produced positive results, it seems that sufficient observer data will not be obtained to allow the CCAMLR Scientific Committee to provide advice to the Commission. Thus, CCAMLR should persist in its efforts to work toward 100% observer coverage across all vessels in the krill fishery as the best way to achieve systematic observer coverage. The review of CEMP has become a high priority for the Working Group on Ecosystem Management and Monitoring. An expanded and reformulated CEMP will require new sources of funding and thus, CCAMLR will need to develop funding mechanisms, such as a dedicated CEMP Fund, to ensure the necessary resources are available. Uncertainties over green weight, krill escape mortality and the impacts of krill fishing on fish larvae continue to be a reason for concern.

Both the Convention for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty provide for the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) for purposes of scientific study and to conserve unique features and components of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. This paper summarizes the case for including the Ross Sea within CCAMLR’s network of MPAs, following the discussion at the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (WG- EMM) meeting in South Africa this year. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) proposes, in part because the area meets several other internationally recognized biodiversity criteria for MPAs, that the Ross Sea shelf and slope become part of the CCAMLR network, allowing marine science to continue without interference from other, extractive uses that would alter ecosystem structure and dynamics. ASOC submits that protection of the Ross Sea continental shelf and slope is a high priority, as an area embedded within one of the regions recognized by CCAMLR through the bioregionalisation process in 2008, and by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP), as priority areas for MPA designation. This paper outlines how the Ross Sea shelf and slope fulfill the criteria for selecting sites under the auspices of the Antarctic Treaty and CCAMLR for the designation of marine protected areas to conserve and enable the continued assessment of the structure and dynamics of a unique marine ecosystem. For perspective, this paper makes comparisons with the special area criteria under the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites. The Ross Sea is of high global importance in terms of its biodiversity, evolutionary significance, disproportional presence of many charismatic high-latitude species, and potential as a climate refuge and reference area for the detection of the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. According to an independent analysis of human impacts on the world's oceans, the Ross Sea is the least affected large continental shelf ecosystem remaining on Earth (Halpern et al. 2008). If protected it would be the highest latitude habitat represented in a comprehensive and representative network of Southern Ocean MPAs, and has for decades been an area in which investigations have led the way in disclosing interannual, decadal and long-term effects of climate change on the hydrography and biota of a high latitude system. The Ross Sea benthos is especially rich and the abundance of its top predator species is unique. As the Continental shelf and slope contain most of the spawning/breeding, feeding, molting and wintering areas of these predators, ASOC submits that the Ross Sea should be protected as a unit.

Abstract Ocean acidification poses severe potential threats to marine ecosystems, including the Southern Ocean. The relative undersaturation of CaCO3 in the Southern Ocean suggests that ocean acidification will have its greatest initial impacts there if greenhouse gas emissions continue on their projected trajectory. Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate essential to shell forming organisms such as the pteropods that form the base of much of the Southern Ocean food chain. Orr et al (2005) predicted that under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) IS92a warming scenario , which assumes “business as usual” - emissions leading to 778 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere by 2100 - aragonite will be undersaturated throughout the Southern Ocean. Even under the more conservative IPCC S650 scenario, which assumes that atmospheric CO2 will only reach 563 ppm by 2100, the aragonite saturation horizon is likely to have shrunk from 730 to 60 m by 2100, with the entire Weddell Sea undersaturated with respect to aragonite. Current greenhouse gas emission projections make it imperative that CCAMLR Members develop research programs to fill in the gaps of current research on Southern Ocean impacts as soon as possible. Longer-term studies of acidification for the entire lifecycle of important species are needed, including implications for non-calcifying organisms and impacts of ocean acidification on other biological processes besides calcification in invertebrates and vertebrates. Ocean acidification is relevant to consideration of the impacts of fishing on benthic organisms (including cold water corals) and the management of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). Acidification is likely to negatively affect recovery period and whether species can recover.

Abstract This paper identifies recent developments and existing measures relevant to the management of fishing vessels operating in the Southern Ocean. It identifies that currently a piecemeal approach has been taken to the management of the safety and environmental impact of fishing vessels resulting in an ad hoc patchwork of regulation. The paper identifies a new opportunity for review, amendment, improvement and consolidation of the existing framework through the development of a mandatory Polar Code. However, recognizing that the work on the Polar Code is unlikely to be completed for another two years proposes two conservation measures which would harmonize requirements for fishing vessels throughout the Convention Area.

Abstract Interest in krill fishing continues to grow. To ensure that this fishery develops in accordance with Convention principles, CCAMLR must intensify efforts to reduce uncertainties. Lack of sufficient information about abundance of krill and krill predator populations, their distribution and seasonal variability, predator-prey relationships and the effects of climate change are delaying the establishment of krill catch limits among small-scale management units (SSMUs) in Area 48. Uncertainties over krill escape mortality and the impact of krill fishing on fish larvae and krill predators are also concerning. These are urgent issues and we call on CCAMLR’s Scientific Committee to make recommendations to address them and for the Commission act on them at this meeting.

Abstract The persistence of IUU fishing in the CCAMLR Area undermines the intrinsic values of CCAMLR and of the Antarctic Treaty. Thus, eliminating IUU fishing must continue to be a top priority for CCAMLR as an integral part of the Antarctic Treaty System. Thus far, in spite of the number of Conservation Measures on IUU fishing adopted by CCAMLR, there are still significant steps that CCAMLR Members can take individually and collectively to eliminate IUU fishing in the CCAMLR Area. An important step in the development of global instruments to tackle this problem is the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA). CCAMLR should take steps to encourage its Members to sign and ratify this agreement as soon as possible. In addition, CCAMLR should adapt its port State measures to the international minimum standard provided by the PSMA, while not weakening any of its current measures in force. At the same time, and in the spirit of promoting the effective implementation of port State measures, CCAMLR should establish mutual recognition of IUU vessel lists with other RFMOs and require the use of IMO numbers for all fishing vessels operating in the CCAMLR area.

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Fishing magnifies the sensitivity of ecosystems to the effects of climate change. In the Southern Ocean, CCAMLR has the capacity to reduce this sensitivity by appropriately adapting fishing strategies. ASOC advocates that the role of CCAMLR in the climate change context continues to lie in: 1) coordinating with the Committed on Environmental Protection (CEP) in addressing climate change, including monitoring efforts, data collection and area protection; 2) extending the use of Marine Protected Area (MPAs) networks; 3) extending the application of the Precautionary Approach to include the uncertainties raised by climate change; 4) strengthening the CCAMLR Ecosystem and Monitoring Program (CEMP); and 5) providing leadership in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases during the course of fishing activities.