CONSERVING ANTARCTICA FROM THE BOTTOM UP: IMPLEMENTATION OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 61/105 BY THE COMMISSION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE ANTARCTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CCAMLR)

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 61/105 calls upon Regional Fisheries Management Organizations or Arrangements (RFMO/As) to take measures to prevent significant adverse impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). In response to this CCAMLR has implemented a series of measures that limit the spatial extent, and require an assessment of potential impacts on VMEs, for those fisheries that interact with the seabed. In addition CCAMLR has and also codified an encounter with a VME during fishing operations and the resulting course of action to be taken by a vessel. In the first year of implementation 7 areas have been closed to fishing as a result of encounters with VMEs