Socated on the edge of the Southern Ocean, Hobart, the beautiful and wild capital of Tasmania (Australia) is one of the five great gateways to Antarctica. It is also the headquarters of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is hosting its annual meeting there this week.
CCAMLR provides the opportunity to strengthen international collaboration and take greater action to safeguard our oceans for future generations. Protecting the Antarctic environment is protecting the future of the planet.
The Commission was established forty years ago, at a time when there were fears that unsustainable fishing was threatening the long-term sustainability of Antarctic marine life. This is the case with krill, a key species in the ecosystem, because it is an essential source of food for penguins, seals and whales.
A remarkable carbon sink
But since then it has become clear that protecting the Antarctic ecosystem is essential to solving climate change and that this ecosystem plays as important a role as the existing rainforests. This is why CCAMLR appears today as a key player in the international effort to resolve the environmental crisis.
The science is formal. Marine protected areas are one of the most effective measures to increase biomass and build resilience to environmental pressures.
These protective measures are crucial for krill, which is not only the most abundant multicellular organism on the planet, but also a remarkable carbon sink. According to some estimates, krill sequester up to 23 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year, which is equivalent to taking billions of cars off the road.
Unfortunately, it’s a race against time. Rising ocean temperatures and acidity levels are decreasing reproductive rates and, if current trends continue, these rates could experience a catastrophic decline by the end of the century.
three million square kilometers
CCAMLR can help curb these trends if it follows through on its commitment to create a strong network of marine protected areas in Antarctica. Currently, there are two proposals on the table supported by the United States, the European Union, Australia and fourteen other members. They could protect 3 million square kilometers of virtually pristine waters off East Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea. These proposals have already been validated by rigorous scientific scrutiny. All that remains is the political will to approve them.
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