National Science Foundation to develop, adpot, and pursue 

 policies that would lead to cooperative international 

 efforts to protect the Antarctic marine ecosystem. At the 

 IXth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held late in 

 1977, the representatives of the United States and the other 

 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties* recommended to their 

 governments that a definitive regime for the conservation of 

 Antarctic marine living resources be concluded before the 

 end of 1978 and that a Special Consultative Meeting be 

 convened for the purpose of developing a Draft Convention. 



In response to the decision made at the IXth Consultative 

 Meeting, Australia hosted a Special Consultative Meeting in 

 Canberra, Australia (27 February to 16 March 1978) . In 

 preparation, the Department of State prepared and requested 

 comments on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

 for a Possible Regime for Conservation of Antarctic Marine 

 Living Resources. The Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, provided extensive comments 

 and helped prepare a draft convention which was tabled at 

 the meeting. Further discussions were needed in order to 

 reach agreement on a negotiating text for the convention, 

 and these were held in Buenos Aires (July 1978) , Washington, 

 D.C. (September 1978 and September-October 1979) , and Bern 

 (March 1979) . 



The Formal Diplomatic Conference to conclude the 

 Convention was held in Canberra, Australia, 7-20 May 1980. 

 Subsequently, a "preparatory meeting" was held in Hobart, 

 Tasmania, Australia, from 10-24 September 1981 to discuss 

 steps that could be taken to facilitate operation of the 

 Commission and Scientific Committee which were to be established 

 when the Convention entered into force. The Convention 

 entered into force on 7 April 1982, 30 days after deposit of 

 the eighth instrument of ratification. The first meeting of 

 the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine 

 Living Resources (the Living Resources Convention) was held 

 in Hobart from 24 May to 11 June 1982 and the first meeting 

 of the Scientific Committee in Hobart from 7-11 June 1982. 



The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties at that 

 time were: Argentina, Australia, Belgiiim, Chile, 

 France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of South 

 Africa, U.S.S.R., United Kingdom, and the United States. 

 Since then, the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland 

 have become Consultative Parties. 



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