<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/23/chile-seals-colony-gain-protection-new-marine-park-juan-fernandez-archipelago-wildlife>
"Six decades ago, pioneering oceanographer and conservationist Sylvia Earle
made a bittersweet discovery while diving off Chile’s oceanic islands with the
US National Science Foundation vessel, the
Anton Bruun. She found the remains
of a baby fur seal, one of the world’s most isolated aquatic mammals.
Endemic to the Juan Fernández archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean, and once
prized for its fur and meat, the species,
Arctocephalus philippii, was
believed to have been hunted to extinction in the 19th century. But, Earle
said: “A baby must have a mum and dad somewhere.”
A year after her find, a small colony of 20 endemic fur seals was confirmed on
Robinson Crusoe Island, one of the archipelagos’ three islands, named after
Daniel Defoe’s fictionalised tale of the real-life sailor Alexander Selkirk,
who was marooned there from 1704 to 1709.
The discovery was, she says, a “message of hope” and with it “the beginning of
the turn-around” to protect the archipelago, a haven for endemic wildlife and a
biological hotspot, against other human-made threats including industrial
fishing and the climate crisis.
Today, after decades of action by islanders and conservationists, including
Earle who described it as a critical “Hope Spot” to protect marine life, the
almost obliterated seal population has made a remarkable recovery. An estimated
200,000 fur seals now live around the islands, “returning them to their
previous role as key members of the ecosystem” says Earle, now 90, who returned
to the island to dive in December 2025.
Last week, Earle and the 1,000-strong community of mainly lobster fishers were
celebrating a new conservation win: earlier this month, in one of his last acts
as the president of Chile, before José Antonio Kast was elected on 11 March,
Gabriel Boric signed a historic agreement to extend protection of 337,000 sq km
(130,000 sq miles) of the waters around Juan Fernández and the nearby
Nazca-Desventuradas marine park."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-lessons-chicago-congestion-pricing/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
