Icefish spawning aggregation in the southern Weddell Sea

During the Continental Shelf Multidisciplinary Flux Study (COSMUS) expedition from February to March 2021 aboard RV Polarstern (expedition ID: PS124) (Hellmer & Holtappels, 2021), a large spawning aggregation of notothenioid icefish (Neopagetopsis ionah, Nybelin 1947) was discovered in the southern Weddell Sea. The CCAMLR community was informed of this discovery by Germany in COMM CIRC 22/10 and SC CIRC 22/08 earlier this year (17 January 2022). Purser et al. (2022) report on the spawning aggregation in Current Biology. Here we provide detailed information on the active fish nest aggregation and on additional icefish nesting sites observed in the Filchner Trough area (Knust & Schröder, 2014; Schröder, 2016; Riginella et al., 2021; Purser et al., 2022; Purser et al., in review)

Evaluation of the achievement of WSMPA conservation features and their target values for WSMPA Phase 1

At CCAMLR-38, the Delegation of the European Union and its Member States and Norway proposed that the Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area (WSMPA) should be adopted by CCAMLR in two phases: WSMPA Phase 1 and WSMPA Phase 2. A proposal to establish WSMPA Phase 1 has been submitted to CCAMLR-38. At this point, we provide brief information on the achievement of the WSMPA conservation features and their conservation targets for WSMPA Phase 1

Planning marine protected areas under the CCAMLR regime – The case of the Weddell Sea (Antarctica)

Currently, almost 8% of the world’s oceans are designated marine protected areas (MPAs), the majority of which are relatively small and under national jurisdiction. Several initiatives are presently underway in international waters to establish large-scale MPAs, such as for the Southern Ocean under the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). By reviewing the MPA initiative in the Weddell Sea (WSMPA), we aim to guide through the planning steps involved in developing an MPA in the high seas of the Southern Ocean in the context of an international organisation, i.e. CCAMLR. We focus also on the associated sciencepolicy discussion process. To this end, we examine the WSMPA roadmap retrospectively from its beginning in 2013 until today. We discuss the individual planning steps and how these have been designed in detail. Throughout, we show that the planning of the WSMPA was based on a collaborative, science-based process that exemplified best practice in applied science. Lastly, we also provide an outlook on the current situation regarding the establishment of CCAMLR MPAs and point out that scientific best practice may not be sufficient to achieve the consensus and political drive ultimately required for the designation of MPAs in the Southern Ocean

Progress report on the scientific data compilation and analyses in support of the development of a CCAMLR MPA in the Weddell Sea (Antarctica)

At the CCAMLR meeting in 2012, the Commission welcomed the offer of Germany to take the lead in developing a Weddell Sea MPA for consideration in 2014. Subsequently, the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection tasked the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research to compile and analyse scientific data for identifying areas which require particular protection in the Weddell Sea. Work under this project started mid-April 2013. This progress report is based on WG-EMM-13/22 which was submitted to WG-EMM 2013 in Bremerhaven, Germany. Germany intends to update the Scientific Committee on the actual state of our project, particularly on the main proceeds of a national data workshop held in Bremerhaven early September 2013. The main objectives of this document are (i) to propose the planning area of our evaluation study, (ii) to provide an update on the data situation, (iii) to draw attention to the forthcoming (early April 2014) international expert workshop on the planning of a Weddell Sea MPA

Scientific background document in support of the development of a CCAMLR MPA in the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) – Version 2014

Germany intends to present the Scientific Committee the background document that provides the scientific basis for the evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Weddell Sea. Please note, that the current state of the background document presents a comprehensive yet incomplete first version concerning chapters that have to be (further) developed or revised. The contents and structure of the document reflect also its main objectives, i.e. (i) to set out the general background and context of the establishment of MPAs, (ii) to describe the boundaries of the Weddell Sea MPA Planning Area, (iii) to inform on the data retrieval process, (iv) to provide - for the first time- a comprehensive, yet succinct, general description of the Weddell Sea ecosystem to reflect the state of the science, and additionally to present the results of the various preliminary scientific analyses that were carried out so far within the framework of the MPA Weddell Sea project, and finally (v) to describe future work beyond the development of the scientific basis for the evaluation of a Weddell Sea MPA

Scientific background document in support of the development of a CCAMLR MPA in the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) - Version 2015 - Part A: General context of the establishment of MPAs and background information on the Weddell Sea MPA planning area-

Germany intends to present the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (WG EMM) the background document that provides the scientific basis for the evaluation of a marine protected area (MPA) in the Weddell Sea planning area. The contents and structure of the whole document reflect its main objectives, i.e. to set out the general context of the establishment of MPAs and to provide the background information on the Weddell Sea MPA (WSMPA) planning area (Part A); to inform on the data retrieval process (Part B) and to describe the results of the scientific analyses and the MPA scenario development with the directly science-based aspects of the WSMPA proposal, i.e. the objectives and the boundaries and zones of the MPA (Part C). Here, the authors intend to update WG EMM on the current state of Part A of the document that has been presented at the meeting of the CCAMLR Scientific Committee in 2014. The Scientific Committee had welcomed and endorsed the scientific background document (SC-CAMLR-XXXIII/BG/02) as a foundation reference for the Weddell Sea MPA planning (SC-CAMLR-XXXIII, § 5.21). Part A contains (i) a synopsis in terms of the establishment of MPAs (chapter 1); (ii) a description of the boundaries of the WSMPA planning area (chapter 2); (iii) a comprehensive, yet succinct, general description of the Weddell Sea ecosystem (chapter 3); (iv) and finally a guidance regarding the future work beyond the development of the scientific basis for the evaluation of a WSMPA (chapter 4). Please note that the current state of Part A of the document presents a comprehensive yet incomplete version concerning chapters that have to be (further) developed or revised