Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) 2006

From October 23 to November 3, 2006, 24 government members, international observer countries and organizations gathered at their annual CCAMLR meeting in Hobart, Tasmania. This year's meeting coincided with the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the CCAMLR Convention, a key instrument in efforts to provide for a comprehensive and systematic protection of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic marine environment.

Antarctic krill are at the heart of the Southern Ocean food web, sustaining hundreds of species of fish, squid, whales, penguins, seals, albatrosses and other creatures. There is a growing demand for Antarctic krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean, as fish feed for the booming aquaculture industry. Krill serves as the foundation in the Southern Ocean food web. In addition to the increased demand, new vessel technologies are now in use that can substantially increase the catching and processing of krill, risking serious impacts to the Southern Ocean's marine ecosystem, if not effectively monitored.

The Pew Charitable Trusts' Antarctic Krill Conservation Project and the National Environmental Trust's (NET) "Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass" campaign both participated in this year's meeting as non-governmental organizational members of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, an accredited international observer participant in CCAMLR. Initiated earlier this year, the krill project was established with two primary objectives: to manage krill using the same monitoring, control and surveillance measures as mandated for other fisheries; and to approve precautionary, ecosystem-based catch limits at sufficiently small scales to protect Antarctic species that are dependent on krill. The "Take a Pass" campaign has been campaigning for the past five years for greater conservation measures at CCAMLR to stop pirate fishing for Chilean Sea Bass.

The krill project urged CCAMLR members to adopt measures currently applied to all other fisheries operating in the Convention Area. These measures include mandatory scientific observers on board all krill vessels, the operation of a vessel monitoring system to allow constant monitoring of vessel positions and the submission of krill fishing plans, in line with CCAMLR terms of reference.

During the meeting, Vanuatu sent an informal notice that five of the country's "super trawlers" intend to fish for krill in the coming season, but it failed to include any details on those vessels or its fishing plans. The notice highlighted an increased interest in the krill fishery could lead to a significant rise in krill catch as early as next season. This led to the hasty adoption of a new krill conservation notification measure prohibiting members from krill fishing until they provide fishing plans to the CCAMLR Secretariat

While that notification measure takes effect prospectively in relation to the 2007-8 fishing season, numerous CCAMLR members also expressed concerns regarding the inadequate information provided by Vanuatu with respect to the upcoming fishing season, urging that it be provided expeditiously, absent which Vanuatu should deny fishing rights to the super trawlers.

Important information needs to be provided via scientific observation programs. Despite a recommendation by CCAMLR's Scientific Committee in this regard for 100 percent observer coverage for all krill fishing vessels, CCAMLR members were not able to reach an agreement on mandatory coverage. Such a program was supported by the vast majority of delegates including: the U.S., Australia, Chile, Norway, France, Russia, U.K., Ukraine, and others, but objected to by two members (with consensus decision making rules enabling as few as one objection to block adoption of measures).

Numerous CCAMLR governments called for the continued prioritization of the process for achieving catch limits for krill at small scale levels that avoid localized depletion of krill, which would negatively impact on a number of species in Antarctica that depend on krill as basic food source. A new working group has been set up at CCAMLR to work on stock assessments and models for krill management. This new working group will start in 2007 and is expected to bring CCAMLR's work forward in its fundamental task of ensuring the full implementation of ecosystem management of krill.

In addition, earlier this year, the Lenfest Ocean Program, in liaison with Pew's krill project, offered to consider funding a special scientific workshop in 2007 that would focus on key gaps in the ongoing efforts of the Scientific Committee to develop advice on krill catch limits. The CCAMLR meeting welcomed this initiative, with the workshop title being "Identifying and Resolving Key Uncertainties in Management Models for Krill Fisheries." It will be held at the University of California, Santa Cruz in May 2007. With a special focus on the growth and movement of krill, responses of krill predators, and consequences of fishing activity for both krill and their predators, the workshop is timed to enable its results to be presented to the Scientific Committee's working groups in July 2007 and to the full Committee and Commission at its 2007 annual meeting.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for Chilean Sea Bass was also addressed at the meeting. CCAMLR adopted an Australian proposal directing members to close ports to vessels on the IUU vessel lists. The Commission, however, failed to adopt measures to identify countries that allow IUU fishing and measures to promote trade restrictions of IUU-caught toothfish.

Other important issues included the development of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, prohibitions on bottom trawling and shark fishing, stock assessments, exploratory fisheries, catch limits for existing fisheries and bycatch mitigation measures concerned with seabirds and other species, among other matters.

Find Out More

• More information on IUU fishing