The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention) forms an integral part of the Antarctic Treaty System. Provisions in the CAMLR Convention bind Contracting Parties to a range of obligations in the Antarctic Treaty, including:
The CAMLR Convention is a multilateral response by Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs) to potential threats to Antarctic marine ecosystems occurring as a result of increased commercial interest in Antarctic fisheries resources, including krill. Drawing on the advice of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) convened the Conference on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources is an international treaty that was adopted at the Conference on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources which met at Canberra, Australia, 7–20 May 1980.
It is a multilateral response to concerns that unregulated increases in krill catches in the Southern Ocean could be detrimental for Antarctic marine ecosystems particularly for seabirds, seals, whales and fish that depend on krill for food.
In the 1990’s IUU fishing for toothfish in the Convention Area was estimated to be over six times the catch reported by authorised fishing vessels. At that time, CCAMLR was aware that other Antarctic marine stocks had not recovered from overfishing in the 1970’s and identified that addressing IUU fishing was a critical need. Although it is believed that the level of IUU fishing in the Convention Area has declined it still remains a concern for the Commission and has the potential to seriously undermine CCAMLR’s conservation objectives.
To further improve compliance with conservation measures, Members are required to notify the CCAMLR Secretariat of the movements into, out of and between subareas and divisions of the Convention Area for their flagged vessels within 24 hours of a movement occurring. A vessel may also provide these reports directly to the CCAMLR Secretariat. This information is validated with Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data that is also provided to the CCAMLR Secretariat by vessels operating inside the Convention Area.
To improve the knowledge within CCAMLR of vessels operating inside the Convention Area and recognising the need to control transhipment operations, CCAMLR requires Members to provide the details of vessel transhipments to the CCAMLR Secretariat at least 72 hours before transhipment is to occur. A vessel may also provide these details directly to the CCAMLR Secretariat. The required details include vessel information, the proposed time and position of transhipment and products to be transhipped.
To ensure vessels fishing in the Convention Area comply with conservation measures, CCAMLR implements a System of Inspection. CCAMLR’s System of Inspection was established in 1989 to support the comprehensive inspections of vessels by Contracting Parties. The System of Inspection provides for:
CCAMLR implements a range of measures to support the conservation and management of Antarctic marine living resources. These measures seek to minimise the impact harvesting activities may have on the sustainability of target species, on species taken incidentally as by-catch and on the marine ecosystems.
CCAMLR seeks to ensure compliance with conservation measures in force through a range of fisheries monitoring and compliance tools, including the Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) for Dissostichus spp. (toothfish).
To participate in fishing activities inside the Convention Area, Members must issue a licence, permit or authorisation to their flagged vessels detailing the specific areas, species and time periods for which fishing is authorised.
