Chapter IV — International 



the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Polar 

 Region Section. The site guide can be obtained from 

 Oceanites, Inc.. P.O. Box 15259. Chevy Chase. MD 

 20825.] 



At the Consultative Meeting in Troms0, the United 

 States, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic 

 of Germany presented a joint paper describing the 

 results of the site inventory project. The International 

 Association of Antarctica Tour Operators noted that 

 its efforts to meet obligations under the Environmental 

 Protocol have been assisted by data and information 

 compiled and made available by the project personnel. 

 Australia informed the meeting that it was undertaking 

 a similar site inventory in eastern Antarctica. 



As noted in previous Commission reports, the 

 Treaty Parties developed and in 1996 agreed to use 

 standard forms for advance notification and post- 

 season reporting of Antarctic tourist operations for a 

 one-year trial period. These forms were revised at the 



1997 Consultative Meeting, based on experience 

 gained during the 1996-1997 tourist season. At the 



1998 meeting the International Association of Antarc- 

 tica Tour Operators proposed changes in the form to 

 produce more reliable information on the level of 

 tourist activity at various sites. The Treaty Parties 

 agreed to the proposed changes. They also requested 

 that the association include in future reports informa- 

 tion on the flag state of tourist vessels and information 

 on the number of tourists that visit the various sites 

 each season. 



Operational Issues — Antarctic Treaty Consulta- 

 tive Meetings are organized and hosted by the Consul- 

 tative Parties on a rotating basis. Information con- 

 cerning member states' activities in Antarctica is 

 shared through an annual information exchange. The 

 number of Treaty Parties and the level of international 

 interest in Antarctica have both increased substantially 

 since the Treaty was concluded in 1959. In recent 

 years, there has been growing awareness that organi- 

 zation of Consultative Meetings, exchange of informa- 

 tion, and implementation of the Protocol on Environ- 

 mental Protection could be enhanced by establishment 

 of a small, permanent secretariat. Agreement in 

 principle was reached at the 17th Consultative Meet- 

 ing in 1992 on the need for and the general functions 

 of a small secretariat. Argentina subsequently pro- 



posed that the secretariat be located in Buenos Aires. 

 The United Kingdom opposed this proposal, and at 

 the 1998 Consultative Meeting continued to do so. 

 Several possible alternative sites have been offered, 

 but no consensus has been reached. 



On a related matter, the United States submitted a 

 paper at the meeting in Tromso suggesting ways that 

 the annual exchange of information required by the 

 Antarctic Treaty might be improved. The paper noted 

 the additional information exchange requirements set 

 forth in the Environmental Protocol and similar 

 requirements that have been established by the Scien- 

 tific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Council 

 of Managers of National Antarctic Programs. It 

 suggested that the information exchange might be 

 made more useful by developing standard formats and 

 transmitting the information by electronic means. 

 Many Parties shared the views expressed in the paper. 

 The topic was placed on the agenda for ftirther 

 discussion at the 1999 Consultative Meeting. 



Preparation for the 23rd Consultative Meeting 



— The next Consultative Meeting will be held in 

 Lima, Peru, from 24 May to 4 June 1999. The 

 Committee for Environmental Protection will meet 

 during the first week of the meeting. Immediately 

 prior to the meeting, a workshop will be held to 

 develop a framework or guidelines for identifying 

 areas meriting special protection to maintain the 

 outstanding environmental, scientific, historic, aesthet- 

 ic, and wilderness values of Antarctica. 



The Marine Mammal Commission will work with 

 the Department of State, the National Science Founda- 

 tion, the Environmental Protection Agency, other 

 federal agencies, and the private sector to prepare for 

 these meetings. 



Activities Related to Marine Living Resources 



Fisheries for Antarctic krill (Euphasia superba) and 

 a variety of finfish began to develop in the Southern 

 Ocean in the 1960s. Concern that these fisheries, 

 particularly the fishery for krill — a key component in 

 the diets of many whale, seal, bird, and fish species 



— could adversely affect many non-target species as 

 well as target species led the Antarctic Treaty Consul- 

 tative Parties to negotiate and adopt the Convention on 



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