sh than the regulated fishery,
which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large
amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line
fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong
comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries

Environment - international agreements: the Southern Ocean is subject
to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in
addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the region:
International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south
of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and
130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals
(limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource
exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front
(Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic
Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very
cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the
north

Geography - note: the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between
South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence)
is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern
Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic
Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters
to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the
Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60
degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far
South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds

@Southern Ocean:Government

Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data
Codes appendix

@Southern Ocean:Economy

Economy - overview: Fisheries in 1998-1999 (1 July to 30 June) landed
119,898 metric tons, of which 85% was krill and 14% Patagonian
toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to
reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the
1998-1999 season landed five to six times more Patagonian toothfish
than the regulated fishery. In the 1998-1999 antarctic summer 10,013
tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean