Commercial harvest in antarctica exploitation of antarctic marine living resources

Abstract

James Cook’s discovery that the ocean around Antarctica teemed with life inspired a massive hunt for seals and later whales, which in part drove subsequent Antarctic exploration. While formal commercial whaling in Antarctic waters ended with the 1986/1987 season, following the adoption of a moratorium by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the practice has continued under the guise of so-called scientific whaling. Antarctic fishing began in the early 1960s, with exploratory activities conducted by the Soviet Union, and has since developed into a substantial industry focusing mainly on Antarctic krill and finfish. The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was set up to manage commercial harvests of marine organisms in the ocean around Antarctica and has succeeded in regulating fisheries, but it grapples with issues such as accidental bycatch of non-target species and substantial illegal or unreported catches. From Cook’s bold statements about the abundance of life in Antarctic waters to over half a billion dollars of commercial revenue from harvests each year, this chapter provides a basic outline of the nature of, and issues posed by, the exploitation of Antarctic marine living resources in the early twenty first century.