As the international body that protects Antarctic waters prepares to meet in Hobart, Australia hopes this year will see an East Antarctic Marine Protected Area added to its list of conservation achievements.
The leader of Australia’s delegation to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Ms Gillian Slocum, said the organisation had achieved significant conservation wins since its establishment in 1982.
Key among them are a dramatic reduction of seabird mortality as incidental bycatch from fishing, and the near-elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the CCAMLR Area.
In the past fishing activities killed several thousand seabirds, such as albatross, each year. Now changes to fishing practices, led by CCAMLR, has seen the number of mortalities drop to about hundred and that continues to decrease, Ms Slocum said.
Thanks to the efforts of all CCAMLR Members, the catch from illegal fishing operations has dropped from more than 11,000 tonnes in 2001/02 to effectively zero in 2018/19.