Marine Protected Areas as a crosscutting tool for the Scientific Committee’s priority topics: the case of the D1MPA

This paper aims to briefly highlight how the adoption of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the West Antarctic Peninsula (hereafter, D1MPA) can transversally assist CCAMLR in tackling its Scientific Committee’s priority topics. It explores the D1MPA proposal and its strategic role in the context of (1) providing climate change resilience and conservation of biodiversity, (2) assisting in the krill fishery management strategy and the risk assessment, and (3) contributing towards the Convention’s objectives. Additionally, the paper highlights the scarce progress made by CCAMLR Members in creating a network of MPAs in the Convention Area during the last decade, recommending spatial planning and MPAs to remain as high priority topics for the Scientific Committee.