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Protect the Antarctic Peninsula — before it’s too late

Banning fishing in warming coastal waters and limiting tourism and construction on land will help to protect marine mammals and seabirds.
  1. Carolyn J. Hogg

    1. Carolyn J. Hogg is a senior research manager at the Australasian Wildlife Genomics Group, School of Life and Environmental Science, University of Sydney, Australia.

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  2. Mary-Anne Lea

    1. Mary-Anne Lea is an associate professor at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia; and co-founder of Homeward Bound.

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  3. Marga Gual Soler

    1. Marga Gual Soler is founder of SciDipGLOBAL and an adviser to the EU Science Diplomacy Cluster.

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  4. Váleri N. Vasquez

    1. Váleri N. Vasquez is a PhD candidate in the Energy and Resources Group, Rausser College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

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  5. Ana Payo-Payo

    1. Ana Payo-Payo is an academic fellow in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK.

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  6. Marissa L. Parrott

    1. Marissa L. Parrott is a reproductive biologist at Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Victoria, Australia.

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  7. M. Mercedes Santos

    1. M. Mercedes Santos is national director of Marine Protected Areas, National Parks Administration, Buenos Aires; and Argentine Antarctic Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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  8. Justine Shaw

    1. Justine Shaw is a senior research fellow in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia; and co-founder of Homeward Bound.

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  9. Cassandra M. Brooks

    1. Cassandra M. Brooks is an assistant professor in the Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado, USA.

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Tourists walk past a small building surrounded by penguins and gulls with a ship anchored off shore of the Antarctic Peninsula

Humans, marine mammals, penguins and other seabirds coexist on the Antarctic Peninsula alongside ships and buildings. Credit: Sharpshooters/VW Pics/UIG/Getty

Among the windswept glaciers and icebergs of the western Antarctic Peninsula is an oasis of life. Threatened humpback and minke whales patrol the waters. Fish, squid and seals swim alongside noisy colonies of chinstrap, Adélie and gentoo penguins on the shore. It’s a complex web of life. All these species feed on small, shrimp-like crustaceans called Antarctic krill. And many are themselves prey for leopard seals, killer whales and predatory seabirds such as skuas and giant petrels.

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Nature 586, 496-499 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02939-5

Authors M.-A.L., M.M.S. and C.M.B. are delegates to CCAMLR, but the views expressed are their own.

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