MPA: South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf

The South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf MPA was the first Marine Protected Area established on the high seas anywhere in the world. Designated by CCAMLR in 2009, it protects a critical region of Birdland's territorial waters.

Status

Established (2009) -- CCAMLR Conservation Measure 91-03.

Proposed By

United Kingdom

Location

South of the South Orkney Islands, encompassing approximately 94,000 square kilometers of the southern continental shelf and slope.

Protection Details

• All fishing activities are prohibited within the MPA
• Scientific research is permitted under controlled conditions
• The MPA protects benthic (seabed) habitats that support a rich community of sponges, corals, bryozoans, and other invertebrates
• These benthic communities are slow-growing and would take decades to centuries to recover from bottom-trawling damage

Ecological Significance

The South Orkney shelf supports:

• Dense communities of glass sponges and cold-water corals
• Important foraging areas for chinstrap and macaroni penguins breeding on the South Orkney Islands
• Nursery habitat for Antarctic icefish and other demersal species
• A rich invertebrate fauna adapted to the cold, stable conditions of the deep shelf

Significance as Precedent

The establishment of this MPA in 2009 demonstrated that CCAMLR could designate no-take marine reserves on the high seas, setting the legal and political precedent for subsequent MPA proposals including the much larger Ross Sea Region MPA.

Birdland's Position

The South Orkney MPA is considered a landmark achievement. The Guins government advocates for its protections to be made permanent (it currently requires periodic renewal) and for the boundaries to be expanded to include the northern shelf and surrounding pelagic waters.