The Australian government has criticised the failure of an international summit to agree on stronger conservation measures in Antarctica, describing it as a “lost opportunity.”
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) concluded its annual meeting in Hobart on Friday after two weeks of negotiations. Despite extensive discussions, the 27 member states were unable to reach consensus on proposals for new marine protected areas and updated rules for krill fishing. China and Russia once again vetoed the measures, blocking progress on reforms that many countries had pushed for.
In a statement, the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) expressed disappointment, saying: “Australia is disappointed that once again, despite two weeks of intensive negotiations, agreement could not be reached on new marine protected areas or spatial distribution of the krill fishery. This is a lost opportunity to advance conservation of krill and the ecosystems and predators that krill support.”
This is not the first time the issue has stalled. At last year’s CCAMLR meeting, China and Russia also opposed similar conservation measures, including efforts to maintain a rule preventing concentrated krill fishing. The failure to extend that rule led to the unprecedented shutdown of the Antarctic krill fishery in August, after industrial trawlers hit the annual catch limit of 620,000 tonnes months earlier than expected.
The AAD noted that the commission’s scientific committee had provided clear advice that spatial distribution rules for krill fishing needed to be urgently reinstated to protect the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Krill are considered a keystone species, supporting whales, penguins, seals, and other marine life.
Australia and other conservation-minded nations had hoped the Hobart summit would deliver progress on marine protection, but the deadlock has left environmental groups warning of growing risks to Antarctic biodiversity.
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