Andrew delivered a speech to Parliament on the need for continued Australian leadership in the Antarctic, particularly in relation to the conservation of krill. Krill are a keystone species which is coming under increasing pressure from the fishing industry and climate change. You can watch or read Andrew’s speech below.
“I’m very proud of the fact that Hobart is Australia’s gateway to the Antarctic. Indeed the whole of Tasmania contributes significantly to the world’s understanding of and protection of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean.
Kingston, just to the south of Hobart, is home to the Australian Antarctic Division. Hobart itself is home to world-leading expertise at UTAS’s Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, and indeed home to the headquarters of CCAMLR, one of the Antarctic treaty organisations, who will meet next month to discuss the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources.
And this is particularly important right now with krill, the foundation of the Antarctic ecosystem, under increasing pressure from decreasing sea ice cover, ocean acidification, competing predator pressure, and an increasingly voracious krill fishing industry.
At this precarious time, it’s clear that Australia needs to leverage its Antarctic expertise, increase our investment in on-ice and at-sea research, and re-establish Australia’s scientific and environmental leadership which contributed to the global conservation of Antarctica in the 50s under Menzies, and again in the 80s under Hawke.
And it’s clear too that this should include a return to the precautionary principle, and support for a ban on krill fishing, to ensure this keystone species is not pushed beyond its limit.
This would help safeguard the Antarctic ecosystem now, and for future generations.”