Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine and Living Resources

 

Article I

1. This Convention applies to the Antarctic marine living resources of
the area south of 60 degrees South latitude and to the Antarctic marine
living resources of the area between that latitude and the Antarctic
Convergence which form part of the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

2. Antarctic marine living resources means the populations of fin fish,
molluscs, crustaceans and all other species of living organisms,
including birds, found south of the Antarctic Convergence.

3. The Antarctic marine ecosystem means the complex of relationships of
Antarctic marine living resources with each other and with their physical
environment.

4. The Antarctic Convergence shall be deemed to be a line joining the
following points along parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude:
50ภS, 0à¸; 50ภS, 30ภE; 45ภS, 30ภE; 45ภS, 80ภE; 55ภS, 80ภE;
55ภS, 150ภE; 60ภS, 150ภE; 60ภS, 50ภW; 50ภS, 50ภW; 50ภS, 0à¸.

Article II

1. The objective of this Convention is the conservation of Antarctic
marine living resources.

2. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “conservation”includes
rational use.

3. Any harvesting and associated activities in the area to which this
Convention applies shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions
of this Convention and with the following principles of conservation:

(a) prevention of decrease in the size of any harvested population to
levels below those which ensure its stable recruitment. For this
purpose its size should not be allowed to fall below a level close
to that which ensures the greatest net annual increment;

(b) maintenance of the ecological relationships between harvested,
dependent and related populations of Antarctic marine living
resources and the restoration of depleted populations to the levels
defined in sub-paragraph (a) above;

and

(c) prevention of changes or minimization of the risk of changes in the
marine ecosystem which are not potentially reversible over two or
three decades, taking into account the state of available knowledge
of the direct and indirect impact of harvesting, the effect of the
introduction of alien species, the effects of associated activities
on the marine ecosystem and of the effects of environmental
changes, with the aim of making possible the sustained conservation
of Antarctic marine living resources.

Article III

The Contracting Parties, whether or not they are Parties to the Antarctic
Treaty, agree that they will not engage in any activities in the
Antarctic Treaty area contrary to the principles and purposes of that
Treaty and that, in their relations with each other, they are bound by
the obligations contained in Articles I and V of The Antarctic Treaty .

Article IV

1. With respect to The Antarctic Treaty area, all Contracting Parties,
whether or not they are Parties to the Antarctic Treaty, are bound by
Articles IV and VI of the Antarctic Treaty in their relations with each
other.

2. Nothing in this Convention and no acts or activities taking place
while the present Convention is in force shall:

(a) constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to
territorial sovereignty in the Antarctic Treaty area or create any
rights of sovereignty in the Antarctic Treaty area;

(b) be interpreted as a renunciation or diminution by any Contracting
Party of, or as prejudicing, any right or claim or basis of claim
to exercise coastal state jurisdiction under international law
within the area to which this Convention applies;

(c) be interpreted as prejudicing the position of any Contracting Party
as regards its recognition or non-recognition of any such right,
claim or basis of claim;

(d) affect the provision of Article IV, paragraph 2, of the Antarctic
Treaty that no new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to
territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the
Antarctic Treaty is in force.

Article V

1. The Contracting Parties which are not Parties to the Antarctic Treaty
acknowledge the special obligations and responsibilities of the Antarctic
Treaty Consultative Parties for the protection and preservation of the
environment of the Antarctic Treaty area.

2. The Contracting Parties which are not Parties to the Antarctic Treaty
agree that, in their activities in the Antarctic Treaty area, they will
observe as and when appropriate the Agreed Measures for the Conservation
of Antarctic Fauna and Flora and such other measures as have been
recommended by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties in fulfilment of
their responsibility for the protection of the Antarctic environment from
all forms of harmful human interference.

3. For the purposes of this Convention, “Antarctic Treaty Consultative
Parties”means the Contracting Parties to the Antarctic Treaty whose
Representatives participate in meetings under Article IX of the Antarctic
Treaty.

Article VI

Nothing in this Convention shall derogate from the rights and obligations
of Contracting Parties under the International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling and the Convention for the Conservation of
Antarctic Seals.

Article VII

1. The Contracting Parties hereby establish and agree to maintain the
Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(hereinafter referred to as “the Commission “).

2. Membership in the Commission shall be as follows:

(a) each Contracting Party which participated in the meeting at which
this Convention was adopted shall be a Member of the Commission;

(b) each State Party which has acceded to this Convention pursuant to
Article XXIX shall be entitled to bea Member of the Commission
during such time as thatacceding party is engaged in research or
harvesting activities in relation to the marine living resources to
which this Convention applies;

(c) each regional economic integration organization which has acceded
to this Convention pursuant to Article XXIX shall be entitled to be
a Member of the Commission during such time as its States members
are so entitled;

(d) a Contracting Party seeking to participate in the work of the
Commission pursuant to sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) above shall
notify the Depositary of the basis upon which it seeks to become a
Member of the Commission and of its willingness to accept
conservation measures in force. The Depositary shall communicate to
each Member of the Commission such notification and accompanying
information. Within two months of receipt of such communication
from the Depositary, any Member of the Commission may request that
a special meeting of the Commission be held to consider the matter.
Upon receipt of such request, the Depositary shall call such a
meeting. If there is no request for a meeting, the Contracting
Party submitting the notification shall be deemed to have satisfied
the requirements for Commission Membership.

3. Each Member of the Commission shall be represented by one
representative who may be accompanied by alternate representatives and
advisers.

Article VIII

The Commission shall have legal personality and shall enjoy in the
territory of each of the States Parties such legal capacity as may be
necessary to perform its function and achieve the purposes of this
Convention. The privileges and immunities to be enjoyed by the Commission
and its staff in the territory of a State Party shall be determined by
agreement between the Commission and the State Party concerned.

Article IX

1. The function of the Commission shall be to give effect to the
objective and principles set out in Article II of this Convention. To
this end, it shall:

(a) facilitate research into and comprehensive studies of Antarctic
marine living resources and of the Antarctic marine ecosystem;

(b) compile data on the status of and changes in population of
Antarctic marine living resources and on factors affecting the
distribution, abundance and productivity of harvested species and
dependent or related species or populations;

(c) ensure the acquisition of catch and effort statistics on harvested
populations;

(d) analyse, disseminate and publish the information referred to in
sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) above and the reports of the Scientific
Committee;

(e) identify conservation needs and analyse the effectiveness of
conservation measures;

(f) formulate, adopt and revise conservation measures on the basis of
the best scientific evidence available, subject to the provisions
of paragraph 5 of this Article;

(g) implement the system of observation and inspection established
under Article XXIV of this Convention;

(h) carry out such other activities as are necessary to fulfil the
objective of this Convention.

2. The conservation measures referred to in paragraph 1 (f) above
include the following:

(a) the designation of the quantity of any species which may be
harvested in the area to which this Convention applies;

(b) the designation of regions and sub-regions based on the
distribution of populations of Antarctic marine living resources;

(c) the designation of the quantity which may be harvested from the
populations of regions and sub-regions;

(d) the designation of protected species;

(e) the designation of the size, age and, as appropriate, sex of
species which may be harvested;

(f) the designation of open and closed seasons for harvesting;

(g) the designation of the opening and closing of areas, regions or
sub-regions for purposes of scientific study or conservation,
including special areas for protection and scientific study;

(h) regulation of the effort employed and methods of harvesting,
including fishing gear, with a view, inter alia, to avoiding undue
concentration of harvesting in any region or sub-region;

(i) the taking of such other conservation measures as the Commission
considers necessary for the fulfilment of the objective of this
Convention, including measures concerning the effects of harvesting
and associated activities on components of the marine ecosystem
other than the harvested populations.

3. The Commission shall publish and maintain a record of all
conservation measures in force.

4. In exercising its functions under paragraph 1 above, the Commission
shall take full account of the recommendations and advice of the
Scientific Committee.

5. The commission shall take full account of any relevant measures or
regulations established or recommended by the Consultative Meetings
pursuant to Article IX of the Antarctic Treaty or by existing fisheries
commissions responsible for species which may enter the area to which
this Convention applies, in order that there shall be no inconsistency
between the rights and obligations of a Contracting Party under such
regulations or measures and conservation measures which may be adopted by
the Commission.

6. Conservation measures adopted by the Commission in accordance with
this Convention shall be implemented by Members of the Commission in the
following manner:

(a) the Commission shall notify conservation measures to all Members of
the Commission;

(b) conservation measures shall become binding upon all Members of the
Commission 180 days after such notification, except as provided in
sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) below;

(c) if a Member of the Commission, within ninety days following the
notification specified in sub-paragraph (a), notifies the
Commission that it is unable to accept the conservation measure, in
whole or in part, the measure shall not, to the extent stated, be
binding upon that Member of the Commission;

(d) in the event that any Member of the Commission invokes the
procedure set forth in sub-paragraph (c) above, the Commission
shall meet at the request of any Member of the Commission to review
the conservation measure. At the time of such meeting and within
thirty days following the meeting, any Member of the Commission
shall have the right to declare that it is no longer able to accept
the conservation measure, in which case the Member shall no longer
be bound by such measure.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine and Living Resources 2, Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine and Living Resources 3, Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990, Flora and Fauna – Biodiversity conventions, The Antarctic Treaty.