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 20th 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.
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