Antarctica is ruled by consensus of the 23 nations who form the Antarctica Treaty. But tensions have been mounting over fishing boats that are illegally catching increasingly rare toothfish, also known in the U.S. as: Chilean Sea Bass. Beth Clark, Director of the Antarctica Project, says boats from treaty members Spain, Norway and possibly the U-S, are flying flags of convenience and pursuing the fish. France and Britain have deployed warships to Antarctic waters, and New Zealand has sent up surveillance planes to stop the poachers. Ms. Clark, a member of the U-S delegation to this year’s Antarctica Treaty meeting, spoke to us by phone from the site of this year’s convention, Christchurch, New Zealand, and she told Steve Curwood that the toothfish may now be endangered.
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