Environment - current issues:
increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic
ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity
(phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish;
illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years,
especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more
Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to
affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental
mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong
comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
Environment - international agreements:
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements
regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these
agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling
Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south
[south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees
west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits
sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource
exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front
(Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic
Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very
cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the
north
Geography - note:
the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and
Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best
natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it
is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar
Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the
south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current
extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees
south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South
Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Economy Southern Ocean
Economy - overview:
Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87%
(118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish,
compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was
krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing
from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly
beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were
adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376
metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05
Antarctic summer 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne
(approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica,
compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Transportation Southern Ocean
Ports and terminals:
McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica
note: few ports or harbors exist on southern side of Southern Ocean;
ice conditions limit use of most to short periods in midsummer; even
then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most
Antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and,
except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private
vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject
to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers (see Article 7); The
Hydrographic Committee on Antarctica (HCA), a special hydrographic
commission of International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), is
responsible for hydrographic surveying and nautical charting matters
in Antarctic Treaty area; it coordinates and facilitates provision
of accurate and appropriate charts and other aids to navigation in
support of safety of navigation in region; membership of HCA is open
to any IHO Member State whose government has acceded to the
Antarctic Treaty and which contributes resources and/or data to IHO
Chart coverage of the area; members of HCA are Argentina, Australia,
Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, NZ, Norway,
Russia, South Africa, Spain, and the UK (2005)
Transportation - note:
Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Transnational Issues Southern Ocean
Disputes - international:
Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but
Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert
claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the
Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in
extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea
ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or
maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves
(the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal
claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and
150 degrees west