The Antarctic is no stranger to the economic opportunist. The history of whaling, sealing and now fishing shows that no place is too remote to deter industry exploiting the resources to meet a perceived market need. But all this has changed hasn't it? Antarctica today is a pristine wilderness ‘devoted to peace and science’ as it says in the Protocol. Maybe, but the climate in Antarctica is changing in ways other than meteorological so perhaps we should look more closely see what changes are brewing.