Geopolitics, Patagonian Toothfish and living resource regulation in the Southern Ocean

This paper is concerned with the ongoing controversies regarding the over-harvesting of Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in the Southern Ocean. After some thoughts on the varied geographies of this region, attention is then paid to the Convention for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Thereafter, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing of Patagonian Toothfish is considered in some detail because it forms the basis for a subsequent examination of attempts by states and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) to manage living resources. These measures have been contested by a variety of bodies and interest groups, however. The final part of the paper considers how the latest fishing crisis in the Southern Ocean challenged intergovernmental governance in the late twentieth century.