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Toothfish Poaching Scandal Challenges CCAMLR Nations: WWF Calls for Closure of High Seas Fishing for Toothfish


Antarctic Fisheries Meeting Approves Southern Ocean Goldrush

November 7, 1997

Boat In Icy Waters HOBART, Australia-- WWF- World Wide Fund For Nature, together with the other members of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) today expressed dismay at the outcome of the international Antarctic fisheries meeting here.

The meeting of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) finished its meeting having opened up nearly all areas of the Southern Ocean to the lucrative Patagonian toothfish fishery, with a legal limit of over 18,000 tonnes.

"The seas around the wilderness of Antarctica have been opened for business," said Margaret Moore of WWF-Australia. "ASOC is appalled at the blatant greed that nations brought to this meeting. The Antarctic ecosystem, for which we have fought for so long, is facing its most serious threat since the era of commercial sealing and whaling."

The 23 members of CCAMLR, including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Japan, Korea, Argentina and Chile, meet annually to discuss the conservation and management of Southern Ocean ecosystems and fisheries. This year they are facing an unregulated goldrush for Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, black hake, and mero. In the past two years, vessels from all over the world have been implicated in this fishery, prompting the Scientific Committee of CCAMLR to warn that the fish stocks face imminent collapse. Despite this warning, political and economic considerations triumphed.

Not only fish are at risk in this fishery, however. Toothfish are largely caught on longlines, and a conservative estimate of 140,000 seabirds have been killed in the fishery over the last year. These seabirds include albatross and petrel species, some of which have been classified as endangered.

While most countries said they were concerned about the fish and the seabirds, it was clear from their behavior at the meeting that their primary concern was to make sure their own fishers get a slice of the action. "It is a bleak day for Antarctic conservation," said Moore.

Contact:
Cassandra Phillips at +44 1386 8820 55 (phone and fax) or the Antarctica Project, USA at +1-202-544-0236; fax: +1-202-544-8483; email: antarctica@igc.org

Notes to editors:
1. The following nations are members of CCAMLR: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, UK, USA, and Uruguay; the European Community is also a member. The following nations have acceded to CCAMLR but are not members: Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Greece, Netherlands and Peru.

2. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition leads the international campaign for the conservation of Antarctica. ASOC is composed of over 230 conservation organizations in 49 countries