Whaling in the Southern Ocean began in earnest in the early s and grew very quickly. The history of whaling is a repeated cycle. Whalers targeted the most profitable species, depleted stocks to unviable commercial levels and then moved on to another species. Blue and humpback whales became fully protected in the s.
Protection was extended to fin and sei whales in the s. In the IWC decided to suspend all commercial whaling. There are indications that whale populations are beginning to recover. Fishing is the only large-scale commercial resource currently harvested in the Antarctic Treaty area.
Major fisheries world-wide have faced over-exploitation. Unless the controls established for Antarctic fisheries are enforced, the Southern Ocean will face the same over-exploitation. Long-line fishing is a particular risk to albatrosses. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority limits the fishery around Heard and Macquarie Islands to trawling to minimise the impacts on seabirds.
The Australian Antarctic Division has established the Antarctic Marine Living Resources program to provide the scientific basis for ecologically sustainable management of Southern Ocean fisheries. Biosecurity is an important part of managing the Antarctic environment. The risk of introducing species, including disease-causing species, is of particular concern in Antarctica. Introduced species have caused major environmental problems on every other continent of the world.
They have caused significant changes to the ecology of most sub-Antarctic islands. Australia hosted the first international meeting to consider disease in Antarctic wildlife. Strict biosecurity measures reduce the risk of introduction and spread of diseases to Antarctic wildlife. Environmental management aims to ameliorate past environmental impacts and reduce current and future impacts.
The Australian Antarctic Program is developing procedures for the clean up and remediation of abandoned work sites and disused tip sites. Microplastics are emerging as a threat in the region. Increasing quantities of plastic are washing up on the Antarctic coastline and sub-Antarctic islands. Invasive species Many Antarctic species have evolved in isolation from the rest of the world.
Consequently, they have developed no means of defending themselves from the invasive species carried aboard ships. WWF catalysed and helped fund the removal of rabbits from Macquarie Island and is now helping to remove mice from the Antipodes Islands. The international commission which decides on conservation plans for the oceans surrounding Antarctica has once again failed to deliver increased prot Satellite tracking is unlocking the mystery of exactly where humpback whales feed on krill, highlighting the need for increased protection of the West We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians, whose land we work upon and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
At WWF, we work in Australia and in our Asia-Pacific backyard to protect endangered species and habitats, meet the challenge of climate change, and build a world where people live in harmony with nature. Text available under Creative Commons licence. Thank you for your enquiry. Our team will be in touch soon Here are other ways to help WWF. Help those who can't ask for your help.
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If you have any questions about your donation, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly Supporter Services team either by email: enquiries wwf. Share this page with your friends and family to help endangered animals even more. Our stories News Blogs. Adopt Koala Turtle Tree International species. Adopt Donate. Sign up Sign up here for news on the Antarctic. What we're doing. Protecting Antarctic giants Whale distribution and their critical feeding areas are poorly understood. Wildcrowd app To help protect these precious whales and other iconic wildlife, WWF has partnered with Apple to create Wildcrowd — a new mobile and web app to collect wildlife sightings.
Studying southern right whales Although southern right whale populations are recovering from whaling, very little information on their breeding and feeding habitat is understood. Protecting the Southern Ocean Protecting species and their critical habitats depends on a range of activities. Since , the rate of ice sheet loss in this region has accelerated at an average rate of 6. To put this into perspective, Mt Everest is projected to weight gigatons, meaning every two years western Antarctica sheds a Mt Everest of ice.
Rasmussen, In , an Argentine vessel hit a reef around Palmer Station in Antarctica and dispersed , liters of oil into the marine environment surrounding Antarctica.
This oil spill was the largest ever experienced by Antarctica. Although the spill was not deemed as catastrophic as other oil spills in world history, the spill was worrisome to scientists.
Oil spills harm cold climates more than others because oil globules can be retained in ice for long periods of time, and at low temperatures microbes take a far longer to degrade oil.
Local resources were not as readily available to address the impact of this spill either. The environmental impacts of the spill were later documented. The effects took time and varied, though seabirds were those most affected. These fluctuations in species populations could lead to other indirect impacts on the environment that may be more difficult to quantify.
These statistics show the effects that anthropogenic pollution may have on other species. The grasshopper effect moves pollutants, typically persistent organic pollutants POPs , from warmer climates to colder Polar Regions.
Molecules are evaporated at warmer climates, and settle back to the ground at colder climates where the molecules can condense out. This process leads to greater concentrations of POPs and other pollutants in polar climates. Although this system harms the Arctic region more than the Antarctic, the grasshopper effect still has the potential to move pollutants arising from the southern hemisphere to the Antarctic region.
Hund, The POPs that make their way to Antarctica have the potential to harm the wildlife, plant life, and humans on and around the region. POPs that make their way to Antarctica are consumed by several species, and the effects are exacerbated by bioaccumulation.
This means species higher in the food chain are most exposed to these pollutants because they consume organisms lower on the food chain that may already store the POPs in their fat or tissue. Several nations have implemented sustainable practices domestically, as well as within Antarctica. The United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia have not only signed the Protocol for Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, they mandate specific rules for activities within their countries as well as on Antarctica.
Their efforts aim to sustain the Antarctic environment. To maintain the Antarctic environment, the organization provides several measures for sustainable research on the continent.
All waste that is produced by the organization on Antarctica, except for sewage and food waste, is removed from the continent in a timely manner. The Environmental Protocol allows sewage and food waste to be discharged into the ocean surrounding Antarctica, but BAS has installed a biological waste treatment plant on the continent.
BAS also incinerates the food waste as well as the sludge the treatment plant creates. The National Science Foundation requires all US organizations conducting research on Antarctica to provide a detailed analysis of the environmental impacts of the proposed research. The US reiterates the penalties for not following such measures to ensure proper research on the continent. On top of this, the US is aiming to reduce fossil fuel usage in research conducted on the continent.
There are current projects underway that use renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power at field camps. Australia, a continent in close proximity to Antarctica, provides extra laws for research on the continent. Although the Antarctic Treaty bans sovereignty over any part of the continent, Australia lays claim to its own territory on the continent accompanied by environmental laws. Antarctic pollution is the result of human occupation on earth.
The pollution currently degrading the Antarctic environment affects not just the continent, but the world as a whole. If Antarctic ice sheets were to melt, the United States and the rest of the world would be inundated with water. Not just would coastlines be eliminated, currents would change, temperatures would fluctuate, and entire species would go extinct.
Although humans should realize that anthropogenic pollution is detrimental to earth as a whole, many nations neglect their contribution to international pollution. Hopefully as sea levels continue to rise, the world will aim to lessen the pollution that it creates.
Luckily the international community has come to recognize this fact and is promoting measures to lessen and eventually end the pollution. Natural Environmental Research Council, n. National Science Foundation, n.
Berkman, Paul Arthur, and Marco Nigro. Broglio, Justin. NASA, 28 July Canada, Mar.
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