The Governor of Tasmania, Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC, will today open the forty-first annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The Governor will welcome marine scientists, resource managers and policy makers representing 27 international delegations, who will review current practice and consider new measures to conserve marine ecosystems in the waters around Antarctica. Spatial management, climate change, and the management of fisheries for krill, toothfish, and mackerel icefish will be discussed.
Representatives from other Contracting Parties as well as intergovernmental, environmental and industry organisations will also participate in the meetings as official observers, adding their voices to the issues under discussion.
CCAMLR is a consensus-based organisation consisting of 27 Members (26 countries and the European Union). The Commission meeting will be chaired by Dr Jakob Granit from Sweden.
The Commission meeting considers advice from its Scientific Committee which has supported a full program of 8 intersessional specialist meetings held online or in person throughout the year. The Scientific Committee will once again be chaired by Dr Dirk Welsford from Australia and meet from 24 to 28 October. The Commission is also advised by its Standing Committee on Administration and Finance and Standing Committee on Implementation and Compliance, which also meet during these weeks.
The Commission will address key issues affecting the Antarctic ecosystem, including updated management approaches for the globally important krill and toothfish fisheries, the reduction of impacts of fishing on marine mammals and seabirds, spatial management and proposals for Marine Protected Areas, climate change, compliance and the elimination of illegal fishing.
Since 1982, with the support of the Tasmanian State and Australian Commonwealth Governments, the CCAMLR Secretariat has been located in Hobart, where it maintains an office of 26 staff. The annual meetings of CCAMLR provide a valuable contribution to the intellectual and economic life of Hobart.
The Schedule for the Forty-first Meetings of the Commission and the Scientific Committee is available on the CCAMLR website.
Please note: there will be no media conference at the close of the meeting. However, a release will be published on the CCAMLR website and sent to the CCAMLR media mailing list.
What is CCAMLR?
- The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
- The Commission was established by an international treaty in 1982 and this year celebrated 40 years of conserving the waters around Antarctica.
- Its objective is the conservation of Antarctic marine life, including krill which are highly important in the Antarctic ecosystem, where conservation includes rational use.
- The Commission has 27 Members and a further 10 countries have signed the Convention and are observers to its meetings.
- CCAMLR is a key international instrument part of the Antarctic Treaty System that as a whole for 60 years has ensured peace, freedom of science and protection of the environment in the Antarctic region. The system consists of the Antarctic Treaty and its Environmental Protocol, the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals in addition to CCAMLR.
- The Secretariat (international Headquarters) is at 181 Macquarie Street, Hobart, Australia
- Further information is available on the CCAMLR website, brochure or through our blog looking through the achievements of CCAMLR over the past 40 years.
CCAMLR Secretariat media contact
Telephone: +61 (0) 3 6210 1111
Email: media [at] ccamlr [dot] org