Australia's Extended Continental Shelf : What Implications for Antarctica?

In 2008 the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) recognised the vast bulk of Australia’s submission concerning the outer limits of its continental shelf. Around half of the Australian continental shelf beyond 200 nm as approved by the CLCS is in the Southern Ocean in the Antarctic, including a large area projecting southwards into the Antarctic Treaty Area from Australia’s small sub-Antarctic islands, Heard and McDonald Islands. This comment considers how Australia should manage this sizeable new area of seabed estate within the letter and spirit of the Antarctic Treaty System, particularly in relation to prospecting for potentially valuable biological resources