Antarctic marine protected areas

Back in 2010 I was lucky enough to spend three months in Antarctica working as a scientific diver with a team of fantastic ecologists and engineers studying Antarctic benthic ecology in the Ross Sea. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources is meeting this week to try and reach an agreement over the creation of two very large marine protected areas in Antarctica, including 1.6 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea. Twenty-five nations need to reach unanimous agreement on these plans with success potentially resting on the votes from the fishing nations of Russia, China, and Ukraine. If I understand the process, a decision is supposed to be made this week! Please read this article (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bid-protect-antarctic-waters-marine-life-gets-second-chance) and sign this petition (http://antarcticocean.org/). 

You can also monitor this website (http://www.thesealliance.org/) for updates and more information on what you can do to encourage the creation of these marine protected areas. We should be doing everything possible to protect these Antarctic gems.

Here are some more images from the Ross Sea to encourage you to get involved and at least sign that petition!

Weddell seal pup

 Adelie penguins

 Gorgeous Ross Sea colors

Kevin and a Weddell seal

If you have a twitter account please tweet #AntarcticOcean to show your support!