Chile Extends Oceanic Coastal Species Ban Until 2055 in Conservation Milestone

Chile achieved a landmark in nature conservation this year by extending until 2055 the ban protecting approximately 70 species along its coastline, a period now deemed necessary for their complete regeneration.

The Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture has thereby doubled the measure adopted in 1995, which prohibits the hunting, extraction, or trade by any means of penguins, turtles, whales, dolphins, otters, seals, sea lions, and other specimens.

The Chilean coast measures 6,435 kilometers in a straight north-south line, but when including all its geographical features—islands, fjords, and bays—it extends to nearly 83,500 kilometers.

Furthermore, the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, where the country holds rights over resource exploration and exploitation, equals 2.4 million square kilometers.

Numerous species inhabiting the edge of the Pacific Ocean form an irreplaceable part of the fabric of life, explained veterinarian and conservation medicine specialist Cayetano Espinosa.

A 60-year protection period is not arbitrary, he stated to the digital site El Mostrador, as several groups, like marine mammals, have long lifespans and slow reproduction rates; therefore, decades are required to achieve adequate recovery.

Moreover, whales, penguins, and turtles, among others, regulate food chains and nutrient flows, and their absence disrupts everything, including the ecosystems that sustain human communities, he affirmed.

The ban, however, is not a complete shield. Industrial fishing methods—such as non-discriminatory trawl nets—pollution traveling with currents, and an ocean made warmer and more acidic by climate change continue to threaten these species.

Specialists indicate that each year, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of birds, dolphins, and turtles perish entangled in fishing vessel nets.

Furthermore, Chile is considered the country with the world's highest rate of whale mortality due to collisions with vessels.

Controversy also arises from the harmful effects of salmon farms located in protected areas, which abuse antibiotics, chemical dyes, and other polluting products that damage the seabed and other species.