Abstract: The practice of establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) within the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources has attracted the attention of the international community. In 2009, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources established its first MPA, the South Orkney Islands southern shelf MPA. However, since 2012, no progress has been made on the Ross Sea MPA proposal and the Eastern Antarctic MPA representative system proposal. Among others, legal concerns such as the interpretation of the Antarctic Treaty System in relation to MPAs and the definition of an MPA, as well as political concerns such as the potential consideration of geopolitics and the exclusion of fishing activities, are sensitive points of debate. Here, a careful study of these legal and political concerns has been conducted. The findings are as follows. The Commission is mandated to establish an MPA to achieve the objective of conserving Antarctic marine living resources. However, the objectives of both proposals are, to some extent, beyond that competency. Both proposals are related to claimed Antarctic territories and fishing activities of proponents; thus, the political concerns were unresolvable. It is suggested that to achieve the objective of the Convention, the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources, measures must be taken to resolve the associated legal and political concerns, increase the transparency of the procedures, expand engagement, and fully implement the research and monitoring plans of established MPAs.

Key words: Southern Ocean, Marine protected areas, Marine biodiversity, Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources