contact
Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs, National Science
Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone: (703) 292-8030, or
visit their website at www.nsf.gov; more generally, access to the
Antarctic Treaty area, that is to all areas between 60 and 90
degrees south latitude, is subject to a number of relevant legal
instruments and authorization procedures adopted by the states party
to the Antarctic Treaty

Economy
Antarctica

Economy - overview:

Fishing off the coast and tourism, both based abroad, account for
Antarctica's limited economic activity. Antarctic fisheries in
2005-06 (1 July-30 June) reported landing 128,081 metric tons
(estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention on the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which
extends slightly beyond the Antarctic Treaty area). Unregulated
fishing, particularly of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus
eleginoides), is a serious problem. The CCAMLR determines the
recommended catch limits for marine species. A total of 36,460
tourists visited the Antarctic Treaty area in the 2006-07 Antarctic
summer, up from the 30,877 visitors the previous year (estimates
provided to the Antarctic Treaty by the International Association of
Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO); this does not include passengers
on overflights). Nearly all of them were passengers on commercial
(nongovernmental) ships and several yachts that make trips during
the summer. Most tourist trips last approximately two weeks.

Communications
Antarctica

Telephones - main lines in use:

0; note - information for US bases only (2001)

Telephone system:

general assessment: local systems at some research stations
domestic: commercial cellular networks operating in a small number
of locations
international: country code - none allocated; via satellite
(including mobile Inmarsat and Iridium systems) to and from all
research stations, ships, aircraft, and most field parties (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

FM 2, shortwave 1 (information for US bases only); note - many
research stations have a local FM radio station (2007)

Radios:

NA

Television broadcast stations:

1 (cable system with 6 channels; American Forces Antarctic
Network-McMurdo - information for US bases only) (2002)

Televisions:

several hundred at McMurdo Station (US)
note: information for US bases only (2001)

Internet country code:

.aq

Internet hos