Successful conservation - then what? The de-listing of Arctocephalus fur seal species in Antarctica

• Published in: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy
• Main Author: Jabour, J
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Inc. 2008
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Environmental Science and Management; Wildlife and Habitat Management; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarc*; Antarctica; Antarctica Journal
• Online Access: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals; https://doi.org/10.1080/13880290801960712; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/54442

At the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in Edinburgh in June2006, a proposal to de-list fur seals ( Arctocephalus sp.) from special protectionwas accepted. This is the first time the Antarctic Treaty Parties havesubstantively reviewed their 40-year-old legal regime for special protection ofa listed species. Before the Parties could arrive at a decision it was necessaryfor them to design and adopt a procedure for dealing with listing and de-listing.It was also necessary to examine management choices post-de-listing becausefur seals have taken a strong foothold in Antarctic Peninsula ecosystems andtheir niche making has been problematic. The Parties chose a passive approachto future management of fur seals (that is, without a specific action plan formonitoring and reassessment3), based on the belief that the species are not inany immediate danger of reversal of fortune: . . . they [fur seals] would notbe exposed to any potential threat of commercial exploitation in the future asa result of their delisting as Specially Protected Species (emphasis added).