ORCA’s research helped inform the science presented at this year’s Antarctic conservation talks. But governments have again failed to agree the protections that whales and the wider Southern Ocean urgently need.
Only weeks after the International Whaling Commission met in Hobart, governments gathered in the same city for another meeting with profound implications for whales. Different negotiations, but an inseparable question: how do we protect these animals and the ocean that sustains them?
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, CCAMLR, met from 19 to 30 October. After two weeks of negotiations, there was no agreement on any proposed marine protected area, or on new precautionary measures for the Antarctic krill fishery. Another opportunity to strengthen protection had slipped away.
For whales feeding in Antarctic waters, krill are an essential part of the story. These small crustaceans support many of the Southern Ocean’s great whales, alongside penguins, seals, fish and seabirds. Their abundance sustains an extraordinary web of life. What happens to krill reaches far beyond the fishery targeting them.
This year, the krill fishery closed early for the second consecutive season after reaching its 620,000 tonne catch limit. That does not, by itself, mean the fishery exceeded its permitted catch. But the total taken is only part of the picture. Where and when fishing happens are crucial, particularly when vessels concentrate in the same places where wildlife gathers to feed. A regional limit cannot, on its own, guarantee that enough food remains available in every important feeding ground.
There is also a more immediate danger. Whales can become caught in the nets themselves. CCAMLR’s records document humpback whale deaths in krill trawls, including a death reported in 2025. Protecting whales therefore requires attention both to their food supply and to the fishing gear operating around them.
For ORCA, these discussions have a direct connection to our work at sea. Our data contributed to several papers submitted to CCAMLR’s Scientific Committee this year. The observations our teams collect help build the evidence available to those making decisions about the Southern Ocean.
That contribution is something we can be proud of. It also makes the gap between gathering evidence and acting on it particularly frustrating. Scientific work must ultimately lead to decisions that give wildlife a better chance.
There were signs of movement in Hobart. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, ASOC, reported constructive negotiations and flexibility from many delegations. Argentina and Chile continued to champion protection for the Antarctic Peninsula, and members agreed to continue discussions between annual meetings. Those efforts deserve recognition.
But progress around a negotiating table is not yet protection in the water.
CCAMLR committed to a representative network of marine protected areas in 2009. Seventeen years later, just two have been established, and a decade has passed since the last was agreed.
The coming months must turn willingness to talk into willingness to act. ORCA will continue contributing evidence. Governments must ensure that evidence has somewhere to lead.
By joining ORCA, you stand alongside others who care about the future of our oceans, all working toward the same vision: oceans alive with whales and dolphins.