The convention was opened for signature on 1 August 1980 and entered into force on 7 April 1982 by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, headquartered in Tasmania, Australia.

[11] In July 2013, the Commission held a special meeting in Bremerhaven to consider proposals for MPAs in both the Ross Sea and East Antarctica.

Consensus was not reached after Russia voted against the proposals, citing uncertainty about whether the commission had the authority to establish a protected area.

[15][11] On 28 October 2016, after several years of scientific and diplomatic discussions, the Commission agreed by consensus to designate the Ross Sea marine protected area at its annual meeting in Hobart.

It originally included seven representative areas with varying degrees of protection and covered 1.8 million square kilometres of ocean.