Mar 29, 2020
Rosemary Rayfuse
Climate change and associated ocean acidification present varied and complex threats to Antarctic fisheries, making conservation and sustainable management of these fisheries more challenging than ever. The ecosystem approach is generally considered to be the most effective way of enhancing the climate resilience of fisheries, and the Commission on the Conservation and Management of Antarctic Marine Living Resources is expressly charged with implementing that approach in achieving its conservation objective. Implementation of the ecosystem approach is, however, a complex and challenging matter, and the emerging need to graft climate change impacts onto the range of factors already to be considered exacerbates these difficulties. This Article examines the implications of climate change for Antarctic fisheries, focusing on issues of both ecosystem resilience and the institutional resilience of the Commission on the Conservation and Management of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. While the potential implications of climate change on the Antarctic marine ecosystem have been under general discussion in the Commission since 2002, the Commission still has a long way to go in moving to actively anticipate climate stressors, in absorbing their importance into its decision-making processes, and in reshaping its management measures to address climate-driven changes in the Antarctic marine ecosystem.