One year ago at the Our Ocean Conference in 2015, held in Valparaiso, Chile, the Chilean Government announced its plan to create a large no-take MPA around the Desventuradas Islands, about 900 km off the coast of the country. On 24 August this year, the Government made it official, designating the 297,000-km2 Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park.
The MPA by itself accounts for 12% of Chile’s marine waters, and is the largest MPA in South America. Due in part to its remoteness, the site has very high endemism: 72% of the MPA’s species live nowhere else in the world. More information on the new MPA, including a map, is here.