Convention on the conservation of antarctic marine living resources

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Abstract
The fauna‐rich Southern Ocean provides the background for a conflict of national interests of an economic, legal, political, scientific, and conservationist nature. In an attempt to resolve what may well prove to be a collection of insuperable conflicts, the nations overseeing the Antarctic region negotiated and signed the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. This Convention purports to regulate national involvement in the Southern Ocean by managing the exploitation of all life in the nearly pristine Antarctic marine ecosystem. Krill and various species of fish have been harvested in the Southern Ocean for more than a decade, but at levels far below those that nearly led to the extinction of Antarctic whales and seals. The promise of this conservation Convention is to allow a stable level of harvesting of all species for the foreseeable future. If ratified, the Convention would create a supervisory Conservation Commission and an advisory Scientific Committee to monitor the extent and impact of harvesting activities, to coordinate the collection of information, and to restrict the species, areas, and levels of exploitation, thus preserving the integrity of the ecosystem. However, in order to accommodate political and economic national interests, the language of the Convention opens several loopholes in the key areas of voting, data collection, and non‐party participation. Further, based as it is upon The Antarctic Treaty, the Convention seeks to perpetuate the strengths and weaknesses of the Treaty regime, particularly by maintaining the status quo regarding Antarctic territorial claims. Despite its flaws, the Convention seems to be a rational and timely compromise of competing national interests. It thus should serve as a model not only for the forthcoming Mineral Resources Convention, but also as a continuing symbol of the spirit of peaceful cooperation characterizing the Antarctic region.

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