The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has ended its 2026 annual meeting without agreement on new marine protected areas (MPAs) or revised safeguards for the Antarctic krill fishery, extending a decade-long impasse in Southern Ocean conservation while creating a renewed diplomatic pathway towards potential progress in 2027.
The two weeks of negotiations in Hobart, Tasmania, concluded with member governments unable to secure consensus on key conservation proposals. However, several countries agreed to continue discussions through an intersessional process focused on the proposed Domain 1 Marine Protected Area around the Antarctic Peninsula and a revised management regime for the krill fishery. The process is intended to maintain negotiating momentum ahead of CCAMLR-46, where the measures could be considered for adoption.
The outcome reflects the tension between CCAMLR’s consensus-based decision-making system and the growing urgency to protect Antarctic marine ecosystems. Under the Commission’s rules, decisions require agreement among all members, allowing a single objection to prevent the adoption of proposed measures. While this approach has historically supported international cooperation in managing Antarctic marine resources, disagreements have also delayed conservation proposals for years.
The latest meeting marked the tenth consecutive year without agreement on a new marine protected area. Yet Antarctica2030, a global movement advocating for Southern Ocean protection, said the discussions had brought some proposals closer to a possible breakthrough. Argentina and Chile continued to champion the Domain 1 MPA, with other delegations engaging in negotiations to identify areas of common ground. China also submitted a new proposal for an MPA during the year, adding to the range of conservation initiatives under consideration.
José María Figueres, Chair of Antarctica2030 and former President of Costa Rica, said the scientific evidence and conservation proposals were already available, making political agreement the central challenge. He argued that CCAMLR had a responsibility to protect the Southern Ocean and that the health of the wider planet depended partly on the Commission’s ability to sustain international cooperation around Antarctica.
The negotiations also drew attention to the significance of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area, established in 2016 after years of diplomatic engagement. Former United States Secretary of State John Kerry said the agreement demonstrated that countries could overcome substantial geopolitical differences when scientific evidence, negotiation and political leadership were brought together.
Kerry said the progress made during the 2026 negotiations offered grounds for encouragement, but warned that the remaining differences would need to be resolved through sustained diplomacy over the next twelve months. He argued that the coming period would be critical in determining whether the discussions in Hobart could translate into an agreement at the next Commission meeting.
The proposed Antarctic Peninsula MPA is part of a wider commitment made by CCAMLR in 2009 to establish a representative system of marine protected areas across the Southern Ocean. More than fifteen years later, the Commission has established only a limited number of protected areas, while proposals covering the Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea remain central to efforts to expand protection.
The proposed network could safeguard extensive areas of marine habitat, including krill nursery grounds and feeding areas used by whales and other wildlife. Its establishment would also contribute to the international target of protecting 30 per cent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030, agreed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022.
Lord Zac Goldsmith, former United Kingdom Environment Minister and Antarctica2030 Champion, said the decade-long deadlock appeared to be showing signs of movement. However, he cautioned that progress in negotiations would need to be converted into formal decisions, arguing that governments should use the coming months to resolve outstanding differences rather than reopen settled discussions.
The krill fishery remains another important part of the negotiations. Antarctic krill are a central component of the Southern Ocean food web, supporting penguins, seals, whales and other marine species. Their distribution and availability are influenced by environmental conditions, while concentrated fishing activity can create additional management challenges in areas where marine wildlife depends on the same resources.
A revised krill fishery management regime is therefore being pursued alongside the proposed protected areas. The objective is to strengthen the precautionary management of fishing activity and reduce potential pressure on wildlife in areas where harvesting is concentrated. The failure to reach agreement in 2026 means that these discussions will also need to continue through the intersessional process before the next annual meeting.
Monica Medina, Antarctica2030 Champion and former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, linked the negotiations to the wider international movement for ocean protection. With the first Conference of the Parties to the High Seas Treaty approaching, she said CCAMLR had an opportunity to strengthen its role in marine conservation and advance the protected-area proposals already awaiting adoption.
The High Seas Treaty, formally known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, is designed to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Its implementation will add to the international framework for ocean protection, placing greater attention on cooperation between institutions responsible for managing marine ecosystems.
For CCAMLR, the wider developments create an opportunity to demonstrate how regional conservation institutions can contribute to global biodiversity commitments. The Southern Ocean is not only important for the species that inhabit it but also plays a role in broader ocean and climate processes. Protecting its ecosystems therefore has implications that extend beyond Antarctica.
Geneviève Pons, Vice Co-Chair of Antarctica2030 and President of Europe Jacques Delors, described Southern Ocean protection as both an environmental priority and a test of international cooperation. She called on the European Union and its member states to maintain Antarctic conservation as a diplomatic priority and help build the consensus needed before CCAMLR-46.
The diplomatic challenge is expected to extend beyond technical negotiations among fisheries and environmental representatives. Antarctica2030 has called for governments to engage at the highest political levels during the year ahead, with the aim of resolving outstanding differences on the Domain 1 MPA and the revised krill fishery management agreement.
Steven Guilbeault, Antarctica2030 Champion and Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change from 2021 to 2025, said the global commitment to protect 30 per cent of land and ocean by 2030 could not be achieved without stronger protection of the high seas and the Southern Ocean. He noted that Antarctic ecosystems influence global climate regulation and the distribution of nutrients across the world’s oceans, making their protection relevant to countries far beyond the region.
The next twelve months will consequently be important for determining whether the momentum described by conservation advocates can produce a formal agreement. The intersessional process provides an opportunity to maintain negotiations between annual meetings, but its success will depend on the willingness of member governments to address the remaining differences and arrive at CCAMLR-46 prepared to consider adoption.
The 2026 meeting has not delivered the new protections sought by conservation advocates, but the continued engagement of key members and the commitment to further negotiations offer a possible route out of the deadlock. Whether this momentum translates into an expanded network of marine protected areas and stronger krill fishery safeguards will be a measure of CCAMLR’s ability to align its long-standing conservation mandate with the growing urgency of global ocean protection.
