[1][2] CCAS had the objective "to promote and achieve the protection, scientific study, and rational use of Antarctic seals, and to maintain a satisfactory balance within the ecological system of Antarctica.
[3] The contracting parties of CCAS may decide the standards for killing and capture as dynamics of the seal populations change, and these decisions should be "based upon the best scientific and technical evidence available".
[3] CCAS also mandates communication between the different countries that signed it regarding all research, hunting, and capture of seals.
[4][5] Shortly after the discovery of Antarctica, people began hunting seals at an unsustainable rate.
[8] The 17 parties to CCAS are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States.