The Antarctic – what initially seems like a barren desert, is actually home to over 10,000 species. Many of these are not found anywhere else on Earth. Currently, there are efforts to conserve these species such as proposed marine protected area in the Ross Sea by The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). However, this effort comes with its own set challenges in terms of implementation. We feel despite these challenges, the Ross Sea MPA is necessary to conserve the natural, pristine beauty of the Antarctic. CCAMLR is currently voting on the designation of the Ross Sea MPA in Antarctica. If implemented correctly it could help keep the Antarctic ecosystem healthy and functioning. The commission has been working on the MPA for the past three years and the last time it was discussed was in October of 2013 when it was blocked by Russia and the Ukraine. The newest Ross Sea MPA proposal would protect 1.34 million km2 of which 1.2 million km2 will be a no take zone. There would also be designated areas for specific fisheries and an area allocated for research purposes only.
The current proposed Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA). As fisheries worldwide are declining, productive and diverse areas such as the Ross Sea are becoming increasingly attractive due to their abundance of marine resources, including Antarctic toothfish. For this reason, the Ross Sea makes an excellent candidate for a marine protected area under CCAMLR. Adapted from: www.mfat.govt.nz and www.niwa.co.nz
How the Ross Sea MPA should be regulated and implemented
Before implementation can begin, the proposed Ross Sea MPA first needs to be approved by all 24 countries with voting status, and the EU (https://www.ccamlr.org/en/organisation/members ). This is not a majority vote; every single country needs to agree to all aspects of the proposed MPA before it can be accepted. This could be perceived as both a hindrance to the process, as well as an advantage. The difficulty lies in getting all countries to agree. Political differences, alliances and perceived notions of ulterior motives could all impact the countries from agreeing on the size, boundaries, level of protection and regulation of the proposed MPA. The advantage is that once all countries agree to the MPA, regulation should be straightforward. Agreeance on the need for, size of, location and level of protection of the MPA would have already been discussed at CCAMLR, therefore as each country already supports the idea, compliance should follow, ideally requiring little enforcement. All ships currently engaging in fishing in the Antarctic Treaty zone (http://www.ats.aq/e/ep_marine.htm )
Antarctic Krill: the largest underexploited marine resource on Earth. These small invertebrates form dense schools (`swarms`) that can reach upwards of 30,000 individuals per square meter. They are one of the most abundant species on the planet, and are a keystone species of the Antarctic system, serving as important food sources for seals, whales, squid, penguins and many bird species. Image source: www.antarctica.gov.au
already require a scientific observe onboard (http://www.ccamlr.org/en/publications/science_journal/ccamlr-science-volume-12/ccamlr-science-volume-1281-98) so there is already a framework in place to help enforce new protected areas alongside the current rules and regulations of the Antarctic Treaty. To help regulate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, we propose that each signing country allocate funds and supply personnel for a multilateral fleet to patrol MPA. This could follow the system used effectively by multilateral NATO vessels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilateralism ), just on a much smaller scale.
The Ross Sea is known for its biodiversity: home to 95 species of fish, 1000+ invertebrates, 10 mammals and 6 bird species. The Ross Sea is also represents one of the last regions of ocean relatively undisturbed by human activities, making it an ideal candidate for an MPA. Image source: www.habitatadvocate.com.au
Conclusion
The implementation of the Ross Sea MPA will be nothing but good for the Antarctic. Due to the structure of CCAMLR, implementation should ultimately lead to compliance by those countries involved. Currently, there are no multinational MPA’s established in the world, so the Ross Sea MPA would represent a pioneer at this level of conservation science. Backed with rigorous science and effective policy, the Ross Sea MPA would represent a preliminary step forward for long term protection of our biodiverse and productive Antarctic ocean.