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D. Negotiation of an International Agreement 

 Establishing a Complete Conservation Regime 



This alternative represents the proposed federal 

 action, described in Section I, and rests on the con- 

 clusion that it is urgent to establish an effective 

 system to ensure conservation of Antarctic marine living 

 resources. It also reflects the assumption that the 

 requirements of effective conservation are not incom- 

 patible with properly controlled harvesting of Antarctic 

 marine living resources. In addition, under this 

 approach, harvesting could take place in the interim 

 period after the conclusion of the regime and prior 

 to the development of conservation measures pursuant 

 to the regime. 



The question of the treatment of harvesting in this 

 interim period can be dealt with in two ways, which com- 

 prise variants or sub-options of the proposed federal 

 action. The first sub-option would be not to address 

 specifically the interim period. This variant assumes 

 that technological and other limitations will ensure 

 low harvesting levels for the next several years. It 

 rests on the view that a comparison of projected initial 

 levels of harvesting with projected potential of stocks 

 of commercial interest indicates that specific limita- 

 tions in the interim period are not required. In other 

 words, this sub-option assumes that harvesting will not 

 reach levels which would pose threats to target species, 

 to dependent species or to the ecosystein as a whole 

 prior to the development of the regime's full capability 

 to identify conservation needs and apply conservation 

 measures. In the event that development of the conser- 

 vation machinery requires many more years than presently 

 anticipated, this variant would involve some risk of 

 overexploitation . 



The second sub-option involves negotiation, as a 

 supplement to the international agreement, of interim 

 measures to apply during the period after conclusion of 

 the regime and prior to its becoming operational. 

 Interim measures would include mechanisms for beginning 

 to build the data base necessary for effective operation 

 of the regime and possible interim ceilings on harvesting, 

 at least for krill. These interim measures would be 

 designed to reflect a conservative approach to harvesting 

 activities during the period prior to the full operation 

 of the system set forth in the conservation regime. 



