In the Southern Ocean fisheries are increasingly being exploited while the effects of fishing are becoming obscured more and more by climate factors that in themselves are changing marine populations and communities, thus confounding management. It is timely for CCAMLR to develop a network of MPAs, with initial inclusion of the well-researched Ross Sea, the area of the Southern Ocean having relatively little human interference so far. Under present climate change scenarios, it could be among the last stretches of the world’s oceans where sea ice remains an important part of the system. The Ross Sea, therefore, represents a refuge both for science, historical value, and a diverse, sea-ice associated biotic community inhabiting neritic waters.

ASOC submitted a paper to the June meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Santiago outlining the reasons why the IWC, in concert with CCAMLR and other appropriate international bodies, should develop a Management Plan for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. This was made available as an Opening Statement in accordance with IWC rules. Following the IWC meeting, ASOC prepared an updated version of the paper, which is now in circulation to all of the governments participating in the IWC’s Small Working Group. ASOC is sharing this information paper with the CCAMLR community. In this context, ASOC notes that in August the IWC and CCAMLR Scientific Committees held a joint workshop to share scientific information and methodologies for modeling the Southern Ocean. ASOC hopes that this laid a good foundation for further collaborative work., and looks forward to the report of that workshop and future joint work.

Last year the Commission considered a proposal for a Conservation Measure concerning the adoption of a trade measure that will promote compliance with CCAMLR’s agreed upon rules to bring sustainable fishing. The proposal received the support of all but one State. ASOC would like to support the adoption of this Conservation Measure by the Commission at its XXVII Meeting, and clarify why the adoption of such a measure is a positive step for CCAMLR. ASOC reviews in this paper the relevant international legal framework, and concludes that a measure such as the one proposed does not challenge in any way the existing international legal regime, including neither the rules of the WTO nor the rules and principles of CCAMLR. On the contrary, there is full international support to taking trade measures to combat IUU fishing.

Climate change has emerged as an important topic in Antarctic research over the past decade, but little in the way of policy or operational change has resulted at CCAMLR. Over the past 50 years major alterations of the ecological workings of the Southern Ocean have been underway. These changes are accelerating as time passes, including regional changes in sea ice persistence and extent. The Western Antarctic Peninsula has warmed more than four times faster than the average rate of Earth’s overall warming making it the region that is experiencing the most rapid warming on the planet: Future reductions in sea ice will be among the most immediate changes, and likely will lead to major alteration in the distribution and abundance of those species whose natural history patterns are closely tied to sea ice. "The uncertainty in climate predictions leads to uncertainty in projections of impacts, but increases in temperatures and reductions in winter sea ice would undoubtedly affect the reproduction, growth and development of some keystone fish species such as silverfish and toothfish (or high Antarctic fish species) and Antarctic krill (Cheung et al., 2008), as well as changing the habitat characteristics of many co-occurring and dependent species." To date, at the last CCAMLR meeting the Commission requested the Scientific Committee to provide advice on the issue of climate change. The Scientific Committee needs to increase its work on climate change impacts in order to consider the consequences of a range of scenarios. One of the most important aspects is to identify ways by which climate change impacts can be distinguished from fishing effects, on which the SC requested advice from the Working Group on Ecosystem Management and Monitoring. ASOC requests Members to adopt a Resolution acknowledging the various adverse impacts of climate change on the Southern Ocean, to pledge to apply a highly precautionary approach to management in the context of the unknowns of climate change, and to include in this approach the establishment in the next few years of a network of Marine Protected Areas of ecologically significant size as refuges where species can best adapt to climate change without confounding pressures from fishing mortality.

In this paper ASOC makes the case for CCAMLR to move swiftly to begin the process of designating networks of comprehensive, adequate and representative marine protected areas including marine reserves in the Southern Ocean. Recent progress on the global agenda to implement of marine protected areas on the high seas is discussed to inform and spur action. This process should be informed by extensive information from within CCAMLR, the Madrid Protocol and other international bodies to inform decisions on which criteria should be used to designate networks of marine protected areas with representativeness being the key criteria. The outcomes of the 2007 CCAMLR Bioregionalisation Workshop provide sufficient biogeographical framework for the process to move forward using the precautionary approach and begin designating networks of representative marine protected areas.

Lack of adequate governance of the high seas areas has resulted in the continued degradation of ocean and marine habitats. Ȁ e ecosystem approach, which comprises integrated, precautionary management policies, can be an important tool to reverse this situation. CCAMLR was a pioneer in the incorporation of an ecosystem approach to the conservation and management of marine living resources, and continues to be a leader in its implementation. Ȁ rough its actions at scientific, institutional and compliance levels, it has attempted to balance conservation objectives with the maintenance of commercial fisheries. CCAMLR has many achievements in this regard, but needs to face new challenges posed by the expansion of fisheries, including illegal, unre-ported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, if it is not to abandon the core conservation principles embodied in the Antarctic Treaty. Other regional fishery bodies that have committed themselves to incorporating the ecosystem approach in their regimes can learn important lessons from CCAMLR’s successes and also from its difficulties. Incorporating the ecosystem approach is an ambitious goal, but one that can contribute significantly to ocean governance.

In this paper, ASOC draws CCAMLR’s attention to the most pressing issues in relation to the ecosystem-based management of the krill fishery, including the adoption of a conservation measure that ensures systematic scientific observer coverage, the development of a coordinated research plan to address key scientific uncertainties at the SSMU level in Area 48, and the consideration of feedback management approaches in this Area as soon as possible. In addition, ASOC maintains that CCAMLR should take precautionary measures to prevent concentration of catches in coastal areas as the fishery approaches the interim catch limit in Subareas 48.1-48.4, and that a standardized method for green weight krill catch reporting should be developed and required.