**Boundaries shown are for CCAMLR Planning Domain 1. Exact MPA boundaries have not yet been proposed.

From Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources website:

This document contributes to the planning process for the designation of a Domain 1 MPA led by Argentina and Chile. The process has resulted in the compilation, analysis, integration and display of a large amount of information, not only contributing to the best science available but also providing a platform for the sharing and visualization of information, highlighting the multinational approach in all stages of the decision making process. In particular, this paper describes the identification of Priority Areas for Conservation (PAC) in Domain 1 - as introduced during the last EMM meeting (WG-EMM-17/23)-, which included exhaustive analyses of hundreds of spatial data layers, extensive calibration of Marxan parameters and consideration of multiple alternative spatial configurations. To assist in the MPA planning process and future management, Domain 1 was thought in terms of three ecoregions (Northwestern and Southwestern Antarctic Peninsula and South Orkney Islands) that differ not only in their morphology, geology and ecology, but also in their current management and resilience to climate change.

The identification of PAC constitutes the initial step towards the development of a Domain 1 MPA that considers both conservation and rational use of marine resources. PAC can also serve other research and management strategies by providing areas where important benthic and pelagic habitats, processes and species spatially coincide, further improving the decision making process.

In this regard, Argentina and Chile propose the Scientific Committee considers the PAC identified in Domain 1 and its relevance to the MPA planning process and other research and management strategies.

From PEW Charitable Trusts website:

The Western Antarctic Peninsula and South Scotia Arc regions are some of the most biologically important areas of the Southern Ocean and have experienced the impacts of a changing climate more than almost anywhere else on Earth. Regional warming is leading to changing weather conditions, substantial declines in sea ice formation, and winter habitat loss for wildlife such as Adélie and chinstrap penguins, crabeater seals, and Antarctic krill, a forage species that forms the base of the food web. Combined with concentrated fishing for krill in coastal areas, these changing conditions are putting a strain on this fragile ecosystem and its remarkable biodiversity. Consequently, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is considering a proposal to establish a large marine protected area (MPA) in this region.

The Pew Charitable Trusts supports establishing permanent large, no-take marine reserves based on scientific evidence that they strengthen ecosystem health, rebuild biodiversity, and boost climate resilience. An MPA in the Western Antarctic Peninsula and South Scotia Arc region should protect biodiversity hot spots, including unique benthic and pelagic habitats, to safeguard Antarctic krill populations, millions of breeding seabirds, marine mammals, and the greater ecosystem.

Recommendations

An MPA for this region must:
• Include year-round no-fishing buffer zones covering the coastal foraging ranges of penguins and other
predators of krill, particularly in the Bransfield and Gerlache straits.
• Contain a permanent, large no-fishing zone protecting the entire area near the Bellingshausen Sea and along
the Western Antarctic Peninsula, known to be a sensitive spawning and nursery habitat for krill.
• Contain climate change reference areas where no fishing is allowed, to better inform scientists on the impacts
of climate change versus the impacts of fishing.
• Fully protect sensitive spawning and nursery habitat for other commercially and ecologically valuable fish
species (i.e., icefish, silverfish, and toothfish).
• Incorporate a robust research and monitoring plan that will inform conservation management and the
regulation of research and commercial fishing.
• Be permanent to improve ecosystem resilience, given the changing environmental conditions.

More Information:

Protection for the Antarctic Peninsula Region - PEW Charitable Trusts

Domain 1 Marine Protected Area Preliminary Proposal PART A-1: Priority Areas for Conservation (13 Oct 2017) Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources

Domain 1 Marine Protected Area Preliminary Proposal PART C: Biodiversity Analysis by MPA zones (19 Oct 2017) Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources

A Network of Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean (May 2017) PEW Charitable Trusts