Implementation of Article II of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources: Continuity and Adaption

In 2020 CCAMLR agreed under agenda item 8 to establish an e-group aimed at facilitating discussions on reinforcing the objective of the Convention (CCAMLR-39, paragraph 8.10). It turned out that climate change, MPAs, IUU fishing, and the role of science have become the key issues of this e-group discussions. As a matter of fact, these issues are not of the same level in relation to the objective of the Convention and should be discussed in a hierarchical way. In retrospect, CCAMLR has in the past 40 years been exploring approaches to give effect to the objective and principles of the Convention. It has so far accumulated sufficient experience and achieved applauding successes. By reviewing previous CCAMLR and SC-CAMLR reports, we find that CCAMLR categorized the discussions on Article II of the Convention into three groups, from the objective to the approaches and then to conservation measures. Therefore, this paper suggests that the current discussions be built upon the previous CCAMLR practices and agreements, and each issue be discussed within the appropriate category to maintain continuity and coherence and to efficiently solve emerging issues.