seals one year old or older during the breeding season to 

 protect these breeding colonies. Participants further noted 

 that Weddell seal pups also are highly vulnerable to exploi- 

 tation during the breeding season and agreed to recommend to 

 their governments that commercial exploitation of Weddell 

 seal pups, as well as seals one year old or older, be prohibited 

 during the breeding season. Thus, all taking of Weddell 

 seals would be prohibited during the breeding season. 



During the meeting, it was noted that many thousands of 

 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina ) had died recently in the North 

 Sea due apparently to canine distemper or a related virus. 

 Accidental introduction of such an infectious disease into 

 the Antarctic could have catastrophic effects on Antarctic 

 seal populations and other wildlife. The meeting agreed that 

 steps should be taken to: (a) avoid as far as possible the 

 introduction into the Antarctic of any potential virus carrier; 

 (b) minimize contact between dogs and seals in the Convention 

 Area; (c) guarantine sick dogs and carry out postmortem 

 examination of all dogs and those seals which are believed to 

 have died from unusual causes; and (d) cremate or remove all 

 dead domestic animals from the Antarctic in sealed containers. 



Activities Related to Other Living Resources 



Experimental harvesting of Antarctic krill was begun by 

 the Soviet Union and Japan in the early 1960s. Commercial 

 harvesting of finfish was begun by the Soviet Union in the 

 late 1960s. As noted in previous Commission Reports, concern 

 that the developing fisheries, particularly the krill fishery, 

 could adversely affect not only the target species, but also 

 dependent and associated species and the ecosystems of which 

 they are a part, led the Scientific Committee on Antarctic 

 Research to plan and coordinate an international research 

 program entitled "Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic 

 Systems and Stocks" (BIOMASS) . At the same time, recognition 

 of the need for a legal framework to regulate fisheries led 

 the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties to negotiate and 

 adopt the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine 

 Living Resources. 



The Convention, which was concluded in May 1980 and came 

 into force in April 1982, established the Commission and the 

 Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine 

 Living Resources. The first meetings of the Commission and 

 Scientific Committee were held in 1982. The Marine Mammal 

 Commission's involvement in negotiation of the Convention and 

 the first six meetings of the Commission and Scientific 

 Committee established by the Convention are described in 

 previous Annual Reports. 



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