Solutions To Issues In The Antarctic

The previous blog post highlighted the impacts that humans have had on the wildlife and landscape of Antarctica. This post will look at the solutions to the three main issues highlighted in the previous post.

The first problem is contamination. Oil and metalloid spills are a major threat to wildlife whereby sea birds can become trapped in oil spills. The AAD (Australian Antarctic Division) has been set up to remediate contaminated sites, usually former work and research areas. The Madrid Protocol, part of the Antarctic Treaty (which was sanctioned in 1961), was endorsed in 1998 and its aim was to designate Antarctica as a natural reserve to be protected. This has meant prohibiting all mining and surveying the natural and environmental impact of all future activities. Products such as pesticides have been banned in the Antarctic and all waste must be removed. These protective measures are an efficient way to reducing the effect of contamination. The treaty will be open for review in 2048 and scientists will make a decision then about whether the protocol has been a success. Personally, I think so far the protective procedures are making a difference since the rules to the protocol are strict and must be met by all countries that have a stake in the Antarctic continent.

The second issue is the introduction of non-indigenous species. The solution to this is difficult as seed or pollen species and animals (mostly vascular plants and invertebrates) can arrive on boats.

Figure 1: A graph showing non-native species found in the Sub-Antarctic (source). The vascular plants and invertebrates can out compete native species or introduce diseases that the indigenous wildlife is not resistant to.

 In 2012, a study by the IAATO (International Association Antarctica Tour Operators) was published and was carried out between 2007 and 2012. 2% of 33,000 tourists and 7,000 scientists were sampled in 2007. Their clothing and baggage was vacuumed to find seeds. Of the sample that carried seeds, an average of 9.5 seeds were found, mostly on scientists and tour operators. One solution was education of people who visit the continent by giving them pamphlets titled ‘Don’t Pack a Pest’. The aim of the leaflet was to encourage being a responsible visitor by packing clean gear before visiting Antarctica, cleaning gear regularly while visiting, and following all strict decontamination guidelines. The success of this scheme is yet to be concluded but early results are promising.  

The final issue is the exploitation of living marine species. Whaling in the 20^th century almost brought some whale species such as the humpback whale to extinction. Humpback whales suffered a 90% decline. Fortunately, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) endorsed laws such as banning commercial humpback whaling in 1966 to protect certain whale species which has allowed populations to recover.

Figure 2: A humpback whale and calf (source).

 Fishing quotas have been put in place to help fish stocks recover. The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) came into force in 1982, as part of the Antarctic Treaty System to increase Antarctic krill numbers which are near the base of the food chain. Krill feeds many creatures such as whales and are an important component of the ecosystem. However, some illegal fishing still occurs by countries like China.

Non target species such as albatrosses have also been caught in nets. Hall, M; Alverson, D; Metuzals, K’s 2000 article on By-catch: Problems and Solutions has published ways to avoid bird by-catch. For example, weights have been used to sink the fishing lines quickly so the birds can’t dive and get tangled near the surface. Streamer lines used to scare the birds away have also been used. Although these methods have been implemented on some vessels, long line fishing is still widely used which is putting the lives of turtles and albatrosses at risk.

In conclusion, because these strategies have only been implemented for a short amount of time, it is difficult for scientists to have an opinion as to whether the solutions to these issues have worked. So far, the outlook is optimistic but only time will tell.