Two Key Developments in Polar Law and Diplomacy: A New Arctic Science Agreement and Establishment of the World’s Largest Marine Protected Area in Antarctica’s Ross Sea

Abstract In 2016, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) designated the largest marine protected area (MPA) in the Ross Sea. Hailed as both a precedent and a prototype for MPAs in both Antarctica and in areas beyond national jurisdiction more generally, it is nevertheless proving challenging to implement. Moreover, further MPAs have yet to be designated in the region although a number are under negotiation. This article will evaluate the contribution made by CCAMLR to the implementation of SDG 14.5 (the conservation of at least 20 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2020), its relationship to area-based protection under the 1991 Environmental Protocol, and highlight the challenges of establishing MPAs beyond the jurisdiction of states.

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Long-term soundscape monitoring in the Ross Sea and its marine protected area

10.1121/2.0001273 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Giacomo Giorli ◽

Matt H. Pinkerton

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Ross Sea

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Monitoring Antarctic toothfish in McMurdo Sound to evaluate the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102019000245 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 195-207 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S.J. Parker ◽

S. Mormede ◽

S.M. Hanchet ◽

A. Devries ◽

S. Canese ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Ross Sea ◽

Size Composition ◽

Antarctic Toothfish ◽

Mcmurdo Sound ◽

Weddell Seals ◽

Ecological Relationships ◽

Dissostichus Mawsoni ◽

Northern Areas

AbstractWe developed a random, stratified, vertical longline survey in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, to compare the local age and size composition, diet and reproductive status of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) with those observed from a vessel-based survey of the southern Ross Sea shelf that includes a McMurdo Sound stratum. Results indicated that southern McMurdo Sound toothfish were larger and older than those a short distance away in northern McMurdo Sound. These data, in addition to recoveries of tagged fish, suggest that the large toothfish in McMurdo Sound may have limited mixing with the rest of the population. The potential effects of climate change and fishing in northern areas on toothfish abundance in McMurdo Sound will depend on the mechanism of toothfish recruitment to McMurdo Sound. Understanding the ecological relationships between McMurdo Sound toothfish and the larger population is required to predict these impacts. Furthermore, because toothfish predators (type C killer whalesOrcinus orca, Weddell sealsLeptonychotes weddellii) are abundant in the south-west margins of the Ross Sea, it is important to monitor toothfish in McMurdo Sound as part of the monitoring programme for the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area.

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United States–New Zealand Proposal for Marine Protected Area in Ross Sea Fails to Win Required Unanimous Approval

The American Journal of International Law ◽

10.1017/s000293000001335x ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 107 (4) ◽

pp. 928-929

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New Zealand ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Ross Sea ◽

Unanimous Approval

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Visual Imaging of Benthic Carbonate-Mixed Factories in the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, Antarctica

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min11080833 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 833

Author(s):

Giorgio Castellan ◽

Lorenzo Angeletti ◽

Simonepietro Canese ◽

Claudio Mazzoli ◽

Paolo Montagna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Ross Sea ◽

Austral Summer ◽

Coralline Algae ◽

Benthic Organisms ◽

Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽

Terra Nova Bay ◽

Visual Imaging ◽

Ca Carbonate

Marine biogenic skeletal production is the prevalent source of Ca-carbonate in today’s Antarctic seas. Most information, however, derives from the post-mortem legacy of calcifying organisms. Prior imagery and evaluation of Antarctic habitats hosting calcifying benthic organisms are poorly present in the literature, therefore, a Remotely Operated Vehicle survey was carried out in the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area during the 2013–2014 austral summer. Two video surveys of the seafloor were conducted along transects between 30 and 120 m (Adelie Cove) and 230 and 260 m (Terra Nova Bay “Canyon”), respectively. We quantified the relative abundance of calcifiers vs non-calcifiers in the macro- and mega-epibenthos. Furthermore, we considered the typology of the carbonate polymorphs represented by the skeletonized organisms. The combined evidence from the two sites reveals the widespread existence of carbonate-mixed factories in the area, with an overwhelming abundance of both low-Mg and (especially) high-Mg calcite calcifiers. Echinoids, serpulids, bryozoans, pectinid bivalves and octocorals prove to be the most abundant animal producers in terms of abundance. The shallower Adelie Cove site also showed evidence of seabed coverage by coralline algae. Our results will help in refining paleoenvironmental analyses since many of the megabenthic calcifiers occur in the Quaternary record of Antarctica. We set a baseline to monitor the future response of these polar biota in a rapidly changing ocean.

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