The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention, often abbreviated CCAMLR after its Commission) was opened for signature in Canberra on 20 May 1980 and entered into force on 7 April 1982. It was negotiated within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty System in response to growing commercial interest in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), whose harvest at scale threatened to disrupt the food web supporting whales, seals, penguins, and fish.
The Convention applies to the marine area south of the Antarctic Convergence, a biological boundary where cold polar waters meet warmer sub-Antarctic waters. This zone is defined in Article I by a series of latitude-longitude coordinates rather than a fixed parallel. Article II sets out a pioneering ecosystem approach to fisheries management: harvesting must maintain ecological relationships between harvested, dependent, and related populations, and prevent changes that are not reversible over two or three decades.
Governance is exercised through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), headquartered in Hobart, Tasmania. The Commission meets annually, is supported by a Scientific Committee, and adopts binding Conservation Measures by consensus, including catch limits, gear restrictions, vessel monitoring, and observer requirements. CCAMLR currently has 27 Members plus additional Acceding States.
CCAMLR has been a testing ground for several innovations in ocean governance, including catch documentation schemes to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing of Patagonian toothfish (marketed as Chilean sea bass), and the designation of large Marine Protected Areas. The South Orkney Islands southern shelf MPA was adopted in 2009, and the Ross Sea Region MPA—covering roughly 1.55 million km²—was agreed in 2016 and entered into force in December 2017. Proposals for additional MPAs in East Antarctica, the Weddell Sea, and the Antarctic Peninsula have been tabled repeatedly but blocked by consensus objections, most often from Russia and China.
Example
In October 2016, CCAMLR's 25 Members agreed by consensus in Hobart to establish the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, the world's largest MPA at the time.
Frequently asked questions
The 1959 Antarctic Treaty governs the continent and ice shelves south of 60°S and focuses on demilitarization and scientific cooperation. CCAMLR is a separate 1980 instrument within the Antarctic Treaty System covering marine living resources up to the Antarctic Convergence, which lies further north.
Keep learning