ECOCLUB Monitoring™

The International Maritime Organization agreed to the designation of the Nasca Ridge (Peru) as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA), implementing an Associated Protective Measure to safeguard the marine environment. The "Reserva Nacional Dorsal de Nasca" is a 62,392-square-kilometer marine protected area, Peru's first, 57 nm off the coast. It was established in June 2021 to protect a 11-million-year-old underwater mountain range, deep-sea ecosystems, and over 1,000 species, including endangered blue whales, humpback whales, orcas, sea turtles, sharks, and various fish. A critical migratory route, the reserve has faced criticism as a "paper park", and unsuccessful lawsuits from conservationists for explicitly allowing large-scale industrial fishing. Although IMO's recognition only concerns shipping and not fishing, it can help reduce collisions with whales and strengthens the argument that Nazca Ridge's exceptional ecological and scientific value should lead to a fishing ban.