| Summary: | EPA Identifier: U915202 Title: The Future of Ecosystem Regulation Under the CCAMLR Regime: The Potential Impacts of Environmental Variability on Krill Management in the Southern Ocean Fellow (Principal Investigator): Elizabeth H. Linen Institution: University of Washington EPA Grant Representative: Delores Thompson Project Period: January 1, 1997 - January 1, 1999 Project Amount: RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships Research Category: Fellowship - Risk Communication Description Objective: The objectives of this research project are to: (1) examine current theories on the impacts of environmental variability on krill populations; and (2) consider existing theories in conjunction with a range of possibilities for krill fishery development. The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), ratified in 1980, regulates the harvesting of krill and other species in the Southern Ocean. Recent scientific and political developments suggest that krill populations are significantly impacted by environmental factors not accounted for in the CCAMLR krill yield model, and that current precautionary krill catch limits may be inadequate to safeguard this resource from overexploitation. Approach: A thorough review of the scientific literature allows me to piece together the prevailing hypotheses regarding the direction and magnitude of interannual and decadal scale environmental fluctuations in the Antarctic marine ecosystem, and their potential impacts on krill populations in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Official CCAMLR reports and interviews with CCAMLR scientists and policymakers provide detailed information on the status of krill fishery operations, international management efforts and fishery models, and the nature of the overall political arena. Finally, direct participation in the U.S. Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program field season allowed me to experience the gathering of scientific information that affects decisionmaking and to forge valuable connections with scientists and managers directly involved in the CCAMLR program. This research project will create a matrix of future scenarios and corresponding krill fishery management options that could serve as road map for the direction of CCAMLR action. Supplemental Keywords: fellowship, krill management, Antarctic Marine ecosystems, krill fishery operations, ecosystem regulation.
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