| Summary: | The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR Convention) was negotiated between 1978 and 1980 and entered into force in 1982. It was developed in response to concerns about the impact of an unregulated finfish fishery and growing commercial interest in krill on the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. At the time little was known about the impact of krill harvesting, particularly on the recovery of the severely depleted whale population. In a world first, precautionary and ecosystem-based principles were embedded in the objective of the CAMLR Convention, which prioritises the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources. The objective specifies that rational use is permitted within this conservation mandate and provides rules for how fishing and associated activities may be conducted sustainably. The CAMLR Convention establishes a Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), with Members comprising both fishing and scientific research states (plus the European Union). CCAMLR is responsible for delivering the Convention’s objective through the adoption of consensus-based, legally binding Conservation Measures based on the ‘best scientific evidence available’. In addition to fisheries management, the Convention articulates that such measures include the designation of protected species and areas for scientific study, conservation and protection. Despite inheriting several severely depleted stocks and an initial reluctance by some Members to provide the data necessary for effective ecosystem-based management of active fisheries under the conditions required by the Convention, CCAMLR soon became regarded as a world leader in translating precautionary and ecosystem-based principles to its policy decisions, particularly for those related to fisheries management. In recent years, however, differences of view between Members have strengthened around how to interpret and implement the Convention’s objective, coalescing around the relative prioritisation ...
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