Introduction

In the Antarctic the living resources offer a complete contrast between marine and terrestial systems. The Southern Ocean is rich with life – among which krill, whales, seals and penguins are the best known; historically, man's visits to the Antarctic have been largely those of sealers, whalers and fishermen engaged in harvesting these resources. The management problems are those of ensuring that this harvesting is carried out in a rational manner, with due regard to future interests in the resources. The Antarctic land mass is cold and barren and extremely hostile to life. What life there is, is probably vulnerable to disturbance through man's other activities, such as research, tourism, or, possibly in the future, extraction of minerals. The management problem is that of diminishing or minimising that disturbance.

The management problems of sea and land are therefore best discussed separately. The exception is the needs of seals and penguins for a firm base (land, or ice-shelves) on which to breed. These essentially marine animals can be vulnerable to damage to, or disturbance at, these breeding sites, and mechanisms to prevent this are best discussed together with other aspects of terrestrial management.

While the Antarctic Treaty applies to the seas south of 60° S, in considering the marine resources it is better to look at the whole area south of the Antarctic Convergence. The exact position of the Convergence is variable, but on average corresponds closely to the boundary of the area of responsibility of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).