The exploitation of marine living resources in Antarctica fisheries has been characterized by intense and sporadic, resulting in many cases a drastic decrease in stocks (as in the case of fur seals and elephant seals in the nineteenth century and whales and fish in the twentieth century) (see section 1.2). mid-seventies he began to understand that the conservation of krill play a central role in maintaining the Antarctic marine ecosystem and therefore, was a key factor in the recovery of whale stocks.
serious concerns were raised about the effective management and sustainable use of marine living resources. These concerns were discussed in 1977 in the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in London.
In February 1978, he made a series of international negotiations that resulted in the signing of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in May 1980 in Canberra. CCAMLR came into force in 1982. Like other international agreements, CCAMLR does not impose regulations, but seeks to reach agreement then the members of the Convention have a duty to implement.
Unlike other multilateral fisheries conventions, CCAMLR is concerned not only regulate fishing, but is also dedicated to ecosystem conservation. This "ecosystem approach" that considers the whole Southern Ocean as a series of interconnected systems, is what distinguishes CCAMLR other multilateral fisheries conventions.
The Convention applies to all marine living resources (except for seals south of latitude 60 ° S and cetaceans in general) within an area bounded on the north by the Front Antarctic, ie conforms to the natural physical and biological boundary of Antarctica. In this respect it differs from other Antarctic Treaty agreements, such as the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS) and the Protocol on Environmental Protection northern limits of which are in 60 ° S. The Convention Area is divided naturally into three statistical areas: Area 48 (Atlantic sector), Area 58 (Indian Ocean sector) and Area 88 (Pacific Ocean sector), which in turn are divided into subareas and divisions.
The legal and political situation of the zones within the Area of \u200b\u200bCCAMLR Convention depends on several considerations. According to the agreements that comprise the Antarctic Treaty System, the Convention does not prejudice the claims relating to Antarctic territories, but in practical terms CCAMLR has jurisdiction (ie the authority to implement conservation measures that are mandatory for members) all marine areas between the Antarctic continent and the parallel 60 ° S (ie, the northern limit established by the Treaty Antarctic). North of 60 ° S, several states retain sovereign rights over sub-Antarctic islands (France: Kerguelen and Crozet Islands, Norway: Bouvet Island, South Africa: Prince Edward Islands, and Australia: Heard Island and McDonald).
There is a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina over the South Georgia and Sandwich South. Most of the areas under the mandate of conservation and management of CCAMLR are offshore. The United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions on Fish Stocks (UNIA) * ended in 1995, is responsible for regulating the operation at sea in the future. As CCAMLR has an obligation to take measures to ensure the conservation of species, but are not the target species may be affected indirectly.
* 1995 Agreement for the UN to implement the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea related to the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory. Today, CCAMLR is comprised of 23 members.
Its headquarters are located in Hobart (Tasmania, Australia).
Until recently, all nations fishing in the Convention Area were members of the Commission or acceded to the Convention, however, in recent times some countries not members of CCAMLR as Panama, Belize and Honduras, have started fishing (particularly longline) addressed to the cod depth.
This situation has become more difficult the task of management of fisheries in the Convention Area. Apart
CCAMLR, there are three other conventions governing the conservation and management of Antarctic resources:
• Annex II of the Protocol on Environmental Protection of the Environment: Conservation Flora and Fauna of Antarctica (known before 1991 as "Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Flora and Fauna of Antarctica");
• The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS)
• The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which is not part of the Antarctic Treaty nor limited to the Southern Ocean.
Only recently has it been established that in addition to cetaceans, other resources such as the lantern, the Patagonian toothfish, squid, and albatross, massively crossing the northern boundary of the Convention Area.
Cetaceans, another group of important species in the ecological interactions Southern Ocean, are not included within the species managed by CCAMLR.
it is obvious that many important issues related to the management of Southern Ocean resources can only be considered in collaboration with the organizations responsible for management and conservation in areas adjacent to the CCAMLR boundaries or species not included in the Convention.
CCAMLR give priority to establishing closer links with these organizations in the future.