On 26 January, the Chilean Council of Ministers for Sustainable Development declared the “Pisagua Sea” a marine protected area.
This decision was taken on the basis of recommendations from the OCEANA association, which works to protect marine ecosystems around the world. This new marine protected area is located in the north of Chile.
It covers 181,622 hectares and is the first coastal protected area in Chile. It also has the particularity of allowing fishing activities by local communities.
The press release states that the local communities exploit the fishery resources in a responsible manner and that they should not be affected by the creation of this protected area.
According to OCEANA’s studies, the waters concerned are particularly rich in plankton and krill and include large underwater forests of algae that are conducive to the reproduction of many species, including several rare ones.