Likewise, available baseline information and existing monitoring 
programs are insufficient to detect changes in the distribution, 
abundance, or productivity of krill, whales, seals, etc., 
that may result from fisheries or associated activities, or 
from activities and events, such as oil spills, that may be 
associated with the exploration for and possible exploitation 
of offshore oil and gas resources. 
To facilitate the conservation and protection of Antarctic 
whales and seals, the Commission has undertaken since 1975 a 
continuing review and made numerous recommendations concerning 
the needs for a comprehensive, biological/ecological research 
program and international agreements to regulate both fisheries 
and offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the 
Southern Ocean. Activities undertaken from 1975 through 
1979 are described in earlier Annual Reports; activities 
undertaken in 1980 are described below. 
The Living Resources Convention 
In 1977, the Consultative Parties to the Antarctic 
Treaty resolved at the IXth Antarctic Treaty Consultative 
Meeting that a definitive regime for the conservation of 
Antarctic living marine resources should be concluded and 
that a special consultative meeting should be convened to 
draft a convention for consideration at a formal diplomatic 
conference. In response to these resolutions, special 
consultative meetings were held in Canberra, Australia (27 
February to 16 March 1978) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (17- 
28 July 1978), and informal consultations were held in 
Washington, D.C. (September 1978), Bern, Switzerland (March 
1979), and during the Xth Antarctic Treaty Consultative 
Meeting held in Washington, D.C. (17 September to 5 October 
1979). These consultations produced a draft convention 
which was finalized at a diplomatic conference held in 
Canberra, Australia, 7-20 May 1980. The Convention was 
signed in September 1980, and forwarded to the Senate for 
consideration on 2 December 1980. 
Representatives of the Commission participated in 
preparations for and served on the delegations to the special 
consultative meetings and the Canberra Conference on the 
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Through 
its representatives, the Commission advocated the strong, 
ecosystem-oriented, conservation approach outlined in its 
Annual Report for 1978. This approach is reflected in the 
title, as well as the text of the Convention, and represents 
a Significant departure from the traditional, single-species 
approach to marine mammal and fishery management. 
