Observations of natural and man-made floating megalitter, macrolitter and mesolitter in the Pacific section of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary from December 1994 to March 1995 are reported. Natural megalitter, mostly seaweed, was concentrated In the more northern latitudes near the start and finish of the expedition, especially near the Antarctic Convergence south of the Tasman Sea. Man-made megalitter was nowhere common, but was seen mostly near and to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula, and north and northwest of the Ross Sea, and consisted mostly of plastic Items, especially styrofoam fragments. Fishing gear was not a major component of man-made debris. Macrolitter consisted mainly of seabird feathers. A very high density (544 per 10nm) of penguin feathers occurred northeast of the Ross Sea, whereas non-penguin feathers dominated north and northwest of the Ross Sea. In the southern Ross Sea a single sample contained 31 small dead fish. Natural mesolitter quantities were usually low, but high densities (to 391/ha) of penguin feathers occurred northeast of the Ross Sea, and pumice granules were concentrated near the Antarctic Convergence south of the Tasman Sea. Man-made mesolitter was usually absent but reached 8.7/ha midway between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea. Most items were individual styrofoam beads, but north of the convergence small numbers of hard plastic fragments were encountered. Biological associations with debris were not common, but included a filamentous green alga and small goose barnacles.

The Ross Sea continental shelf and slope have a number of characteristics that make it an ideal candidate for a marine reserve, as evidenced by its inclusion in the list of 11 priority areas, which focuses efforts on MPA designation where there are high levels of biological heterogeneity.¹ With exceptional biodiversity and evolutionary significance, as well as its potential as a climate change reference area and refuge and its value for scientific research, the Ross Sea merits comprehensive protection of its entire continental shelf and slope. Much of the scientific and biological importance of the Ross Sea derives from its relatively pristine state, which will be irrevocably altered by the continuation of fishing. Preservation of the Ross Sea’s unique qualities therefore requires the designation of a no-take MPA encompassing the shelf and slope. Scientific information presented to CCAMLR and the ATCM since 2002 has developed a clear case for the designation of the Ross Sea shelf and slope as a marine protected area (MPA) by CCAMLR. This paper summarizes the scientific basis for comprehensive Ross Sea protection. ¹ SC-CAMLR XXVII Final Report, paragraphs 3.53 and 3.60

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to be a problem in the Convention Area, undermining the intrinsic values of CCAMLR and of the Antarctic Treaty. In spite of the package of Conservation Measures on IUU fishing adopted by CCAMLR, there are still significant steps that CCAMLR Members can take individually and collectively to eliminate IUU fishing in the CCAMLR Area. At this meeting, CCAMLR should improve its system of port State measures, while not weakening any of its measures currently in force. In order to achieve this goal, CCAMLR Members should allocate special funds for the effective implementation of those enhanced port State measures by developing countries. At the same time, in order to improve transparency and the implementation of control measures, CCAMLR should require that the owner of any fishing or support vessel authorized to operate in the CCAMLR Area registers with IHS-F, obtains an IMO number, and reports this number in all relevant communications.

New and alarming evidence has been published by Trivelpiece et al. recently about the reduction of the populations of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) in the West Antarctic Peninsula/Scotia Sea area. According to this scientific paper, Adélie and chinstrap penguin populations have declined more than 50% during the last 30 years at study colonies in the South Shetland Islands. This is consistent with the declines in both species throughout the Scotia Sea. Trivelpiece et al. argue that the reduction of the populations of both species could be attributed to changes in the abundance of their main prey, Antarctic krill, which is affected by climate change. In this context, CCAMLR should keep a precautionary approach in the management of the krill fishery to reduce significant impacts on these species. CM 51-07 should be maintained until sufficient information is acquired for its revision.

The CCAMLR Commission and its Scientific Committee have some significant opportunities as they convene for their 30th annual meeting. One of the most important is fulfilling their commitment to meet the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) goal of designating a representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs) and Marine Reserves by 2012.1 The recent Workshop on Marine Protected Areas at the Institut Paul Emile Victor (IPEV) in Brest, France was held with this imminent deadline in mind. While there were many positive outcomes from the workshop, significant work remains to be done in a short time. Fortunately, as the report of the workshop recognizes, experience demonstrates that progress in developing MPAs can be achieved relatively quickly if there is a dedicated effort to do so. The key principles and concepts are straightforward, and supported by excellent, science-based papers put forward by various Members and NGOs to help create the initial system of MPAs and Marine Reserves. Adoption of a general Conservation Measure on MPAs at CCAMLR XXX should assist Members in the process of designation and management of MPAs in the future. Since CCAMLR began its serious consideration of marine spatial protection and management measures, ASOC has actively supported the process. This includes highlighting trends, international developments and best practice in the development and implementation of MPAs and Marine Reserves. In addition, ASOC contributed by bringing forward concrete scientific contributions to the identification of areas of the Southern Ocean where the implementation of MPAs could assist CCAMLR to achieve its objectives. ASOC is very supportive of the agreed 2012 goal, and hopes that all Members will work together over the next 14 months to ensure that it is met.  

Current Antarctic krill fishing practices have been deviating from historical fishing patterns, with catches concentrated recently in certain areas such as Subarea 48.1. Based on sea-ice reduction projections, concentrated catches in Subarea 48.1 during winter are expected to occur more frequently. The reproduction and survival of krill are significantly affected by sea ice cover. This is of concern since key spawning, recruitment and nursery areas of krill are located in the Southwest Atlantic sector, an area that has been warming rapidly, resulting in a reduction in the extent and duration of winter sea ice. CCAMLR needs to maintain a precautionary approach to krill fisheries management. The establishment of CM 51-07 – distributing the trigger limit among statistical subareas – was a step in the right direction. CCAMLR should retain CM 51-07 to avoid concentrating the catch in one sub-area as the trigger level is approached, reducing the risk of localized depletion of krill near predator colonies. Although the two-year experimental design of scientific observation produced positive results, it seems that sufficient observer data will not be obtained to allow the CCAMLR Scientific Committee to provide advice to the Commission. Thus, CCAMLR should persist in its efforts to work toward 100% observer coverage across all vessels in the krill fishery as the best way to achieve systematic observer coverage. The review of CEMP has become a high priority for the Working Group on Ecosystem Management and Monitoring. An expanded and reformulated CEMP will require new sources of funding and thus, CCAMLR will need to develop funding mechanisms, such as a dedicated CEMP Fund, to ensure the necessary resources are available. Uncertainties over green weight, krill escape mortality and the impacts of krill fishing on fish larvae continue to be a reason for concern.

Both the Convention for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty provide for the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) for purposes of scientific study and to conserve unique features and components of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. This paper summarizes the case for including the Ross Sea within CCAMLR’s network of MPAs, following the discussion at the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (WG- EMM) meeting in South Africa this year. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) proposes, in part because the area meets several other internationally recognized biodiversity criteria for MPAs, that the Ross Sea shelf and slope become part of the CCAMLR network, allowing marine science to continue without interference from other, extractive uses that would alter ecosystem structure and dynamics. ASOC submits that protection of the Ross Sea continental shelf and slope is a high priority, as an area embedded within one of the regions recognized by CCAMLR through the bioregionalisation process in 2008, and by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP), as priority areas for MPA designation. This paper outlines how the Ross Sea shelf and slope fulfill the criteria for selecting sites under the auspices of the Antarctic Treaty and CCAMLR for the designation of marine protected areas to conserve and enable the continued assessment of the structure and dynamics of a unique marine ecosystem. For perspective, this paper makes comparisons with the special area criteria under the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites. The Ross Sea is of high global importance in terms of its biodiversity, evolutionary significance, disproportional presence of many charismatic high-latitude species, and potential as a climate refuge and reference area for the detection of the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. According to an independent analysis of human impacts on the world's oceans, the Ross Sea is the least affected large continental shelf ecosystem remaining on Earth (Halpern et al. 2008). If protected it would be the highest latitude habitat represented in a comprehensive and representative network of Southern Ocean MPAs, and has for decades been an area in which investigations have led the way in disclosing interannual, decadal and long-term effects of climate change on the hydrography and biota of a high latitude system. The Ross Sea benthos is especially rich and the abundance of its top predator species is unique. As the Continental shelf and slope contain most of the spawning/breeding, feeding, molting and wintering areas of these predators, ASOC submits that the Ross Sea should be protected as a unit.