Fishing and Whaling in Antarctica

Krill is a tiny shrimp-like crustacean that lives in the polar waters around Antarctica.  

It is a keystone species meaning it is a food source for many other animals in the ecosystem. This includes whales, fish, penguins and other birds. 

But krill is currently the most fished creature ever. 200,000 tonns are taken anually. Companies are using technology to 'vacuum' up huge amounts of krill for a growing health market. It can be made into oil or capsules that are said to treat many conditions such as stroke, cancer and depression. 
This means that populations are decreasing steeply. Scientists estimate their numbers could have fallen 80% since the 1970s. 

This is a threat to the Antarctic ocean ecosystem because without sufficient krill, other speicies do not have enough to eat and cannot thrive. Over-fishing krill threatens the survival of significant species such as Blue Whales. 

(However, they are not only at risk from over-fishing. There numbers have declined in part because of loss of sea ice, ocean warming and ocean acidification.)

Fishing has occured in the Antarcitca Ocean since the 1960s/70s. For the first few decades it was largely unregulated because the ocean is a global common and no one country could enforce rules upon it. This led to the over-exploitation of some species. For example, the Marbled Rock Cod and the Patigonian Tooth Fish.

Another issue with fishing in Antarctica is that often birds such as the Albatross are caught in the fishing equipment and killed. This further reduces the biodiversity of the ecosystem, especially becauses Albatrosses are slow breeders and often mate for life.

The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources  (CCAMLR) came into force in 1982 as part of the Antarctica Treaty System. They aim to control fishing in a number of ways: requiring all fishing vessels to be registered and marked, inspecting ports and boats, setting catch limits on certain species and banning fishing in some areas all together. There are still huge issues with Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing, with the true amount of fish taken from the ocean yearly estimated to be 5x the official reports. 

Whaling was prolific in the Antarctic Ocean in the early to mid 20th century. Mostly this occured after countries had already depleated stocks of whales in other parts of the oceans. There was demand for whales primarily for oil, which was used for lamps. This led to a dramatic crash in the numbers of several species such as the Blue Whale and Humpback Whale. Whaling is particularly hard to govern because whales are an open access resource; they move across borders and belong to no single country.

The International Whaling Comission was established in 1946 to manage whale populations but it wasn't until 1986 that they banned all commercial whaling. Whale populations have been starting to recover, but whales are extremely slow breeders so it is taking time. 

The IWC permitts some whales to be taken for 'scientific research' or because they are intergeral parts of some Indigenous cultures and lifestyles, such as in Canada. However, Japan and other countries exploited a loop-hole in this exemption. They were technically allowed to kill whales for 'scientific' reasons and then sell the 'waste' as they would normally.

More recently, boat trips to see whales have become major tourist attractions. There is still a threat to whales from the nets and ships frequently in the Antarctic Ocean.

Climate Change- Warmer temperatues cause the sea ice to melt, global sea levels rise and the albedo effect is reduced. This also destroys habitats and foodsources for some animals (Adelie Penguin and Krill). Ocean acidification harms phytoplankton's shells so the whole foodchain is disrupted. Temperatures around Antarctica have risen 3 degrees in the last 60 years, one of the fastest rates on Earth.

Mineral and Resource Exploitation- All mining is banned in Antarctica and it would be virtually impossible anyways due to the thick ice and inaccessible landscape. But Antarctica is vulnerable to exploitation in the future as it is belived to have rich seams of oil and other resources, which will increase in demand as other fossil fuel sources are used up. The oil spills/machinery from this would disrupt the fragile environment. 

Tourism and Scientific Research- People on Antarctica's landmass itself can trample fragile plants, scare away animals, leave litter, bring invasive species etc. The infrastructure required to house scientists can damage the natural enviornment and any planes/boats potentially disrupt animals natural cycles. However, both industries are usually well-managed. 

The majority of the surface is covered in ice. It is the coldest place on Earth. It is also the driest and any precipitation will usually fall in coastal areas as snow. Antarctica has very strong winds. It has extreme differences in day length, with the summer having permenant light and the winter permenant nights. The ecosystem on land is limited with only a few species of plants and animals adapted. However, the Southern Ocean around Antarctica is very biodiverse and thriving with marine life. This is due to the Antarctic Convergence zone, warm and cold water fronts meet, creating an upwelling of warm water very beneficial for krill productivity. 

The CCALMR discussed earlier falls under a collection of agreements called The Antarctica Treaty System (ATS). The ATS was originally set up in 1959; its main aims are to ensure Antarctica is only used for peaceful reasons and is protected. Over 50 countries have signed it. It sets aside territorial issues over Antarctica by neither accepting or denying the 7 origninal claims made to land there. Some issues are that it is not mandatory and all decisions must be unanimous. For example, Russia and Ukraine repeatedly objected to plans for marine reserves in the 2010's. 

An Environmental Protection Protocol was added to the ATS in 1991, this banned mineral extraction and added additional rules around waste management and pollution.