MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



in June 1991 to assess the impacts of driftnet fisheries 

 on marine species in the North Pacific, they did not 

 assess the possible indirect or second-order effects. 

 Considering such an examination to be critical to 

 understanding driftnet fisheries, the Marine Mammal 

 Commission contracted for a study to review and 

 assess how large-scale driftnet fisheries in the North 

 Pacific may have affected, and be affecting, the 

 structure and productivity of the North Pacific marine 

 food web (see Chapter IX). 



Conclusion 



There has been no commercial-scale sealing in the 

 Antarctic since the 1950s. With the exception of 

 several elephant seal colonies that have declined in 

 recent years for unknown reasons, all of the exploited 

 seal stocks appear to have recovered, or to be recov- 

 ering, to their pre-exploitation levels. Further, in 

 1972, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties 

 concluded the Convention for the Conservation of 

 Antarctic Seals. This Convention, which entered into 

 force in 1977, provides for strict regulation of com- 

 mercial sealing in the Antarctic, should it ever be 

 resumed. 



The Marine Mammal Conmiission views high seas 

 driftnet fisheries as a serious threat to marine ecosys- 

 tems. In 1992, the Commission will continue to 

 provide advice and assistance to the Department of 

 State, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and 

 other agencies in their efforts to address this issue. In 

 particular, it will seek to ensure that the United 

 Nations Resolution 46/215 calling for global moratori- 

 um on high seas driftnet fisheries by 31 December 

 1992 is enforced, that domestic statutes are amended 

 as necessary to make them compatible with the United 

 Nations resolution, and that multilateral agreements to 

 deal with illegal driftnet operations are developed and 

 implemented. 



The Marine Mammal Commission commends the 

 Department of State for the vigorous manner in which 

 it has sought to bring these unregulated and extraordi- 

 narily damaging fisheries under control. 



Conservation and Protection of 



Marine Mammals 



in the Southern Ocean 



At least 13 species of seals and whales inhabit or 

 occur seasonally in the Southern Ocean, the seas 

 surrounding Antarctica. As noted in previous Com- 

 mission Annual Reports, two of the seal species (the 

 Antarctic fur seal and the southern elephant seal) and 

 regional populations of humpback, blue, fin, sei, and 

 sperm whales were and in some cases remain severely 

 depleted as a result of poorly regulated commercial 

 hunting. 



At present, there also is a moratorium on commer- 

 cial whaling (see the discussion earlier in this Chapter 

 on the International Whaling Commission). There- 

 fore, neither commercial sealing nor conmiercial 

 whaling presently poses a threat to the continued 

 existence of Southern Ocean populations of seals and 

 whales. However, both commercial sealing and 

 commercial whaling could be resumed in the future. 

 In addition, developing fisheries, particularly the 

 fishery for antarctic krill {Euphausia superba), pose 

 threats to seals, whales, and other components of the 

 Southern Ocean ecosystem. In some areas, construc- 

 tion and operation of scientific stations and increasing 

 tourism also pose threats. 



As discussed below, in 1991, the Antarctic Treaty 

 Consultative Parties concluded an Antarctic Protocol 

 on Environmental Protection. Among other things, 

 the Protocol will prohibit mineral exploration and 

 exploitation in Antarctica for at least 50 years. The 

 Protocol will enter into force when it is ratified by all 

 of the 26 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. 



Because of the possible direct and indirect effects 

 of fisheries, mineral development, and other activities 

 on marine mammals, the Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion, as noted in previous Annual Reports, has under- 

 taken a continuing review of matters that might affect 

 marine mammals, krill, or other components of the 

 Southern Ocean ecosystem upon which marine mam- 

 mals may depend. It has made recommendations to 

 the National Science Foundation, the Department of 

 State, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 

 tration, and the National Marine Fisheries Service on 

 the need for basic and directed research, and for 

 international agreements to effectively regulate seal- 



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