Uruguay Creates New Marine Protected Area around Isla de Lobos

Montevideo, Uruguay (August 23, 2024) — President Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay declared today the establishment of a new marine protected area (MPA) around Isla de Lobos, 8.1 kilometers off the coast of the famed Punta del Este city. The MPA represents the first step toward President Luis Lacalle Pou’s goal to protect 10% of Uruguay’s waters during his term, which ends in 2025. 

“This area will give protection to an iconic place in the Uruguayan ocean. Just like Isla de Lobos, Uruguay has other natural treasures within its waters that deserve protection,” remarked Alex Muñoz, Dorothy S. McCluskey Fellow in Conservation at the Yale School of the Environment and former senior director for Latin America for National Geographic Pristine Seas. “We hope that Uruguay will continue on this path and give the world more good news through the creation of much needed marine reserves in its sea.”

Previously hunted in large numbers — with estimates reaching at least half a million sea lions slaughtered between 1873 and 1949 — the sea lions at Isla de Lobos benefited from a ban on hunting in 1991. Today, the island hosts one of the largest colonies in South America despite the island's small size of only 43.5 hectares (107 acres). New protections will give the sea lions and other vital marine life in Isla de Lobos a respite from overfishing and other extractive practices that impact the local environment.

A recent study of more than 50 MPAs in over 30 countries found that they almost always benefit the fishing and tourism industries. The findings indicate that fully protected areas—those where fishing, mining, and other destructive practices are banned—deliver the most benefits.

“The creation of the Isla de Lobos marine park gives us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of conserving our oceans and guaranteeing their long-term sustainability,” said Dr. Andrés C. Milessi, Coordinator at Mar Azul Uruguayo. “We celebrate this significant achievement and encourage us to continue working together to protect and preserve our sea, to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. Together we can achieve greater well-being for our waters and the marine life that inhabits them!”

“The ocean is under threat from us,” said Enric Sala, Executive Director of National Geographic Pristine Seas and author of The Nature of Nature. “Science shows that establishing national parks at sea will help ocean life to bounce back — and provide more benefits to humanity. Governments should move the establishment of marine protected areas to the top of their agendas. Right now, only 8% of the ocean is protected to some degree, which means we’ll need to quadruple current ocean protections in the next six years.”

In 2021, Pristine Seas conducted two scientific expeditions to Uruguay’s ocean in partnership with the National Navy and other local partners. In addition to carrying out research around Isla de Lobos, the team also studied deep water reef systems along the continental shelf. The team developed scientific reports based on their findings that were presented to President Luis Lacalle Pou in 2022.

Since then, Pristine Seas has continued collaborating with local partners including Mar Azul Uruguayo, Karumbé, Uruguayan scientists, the National Navy, and the Ministry of Environment, to support efforts to create marine reserves in Uruguay’s waters. Currently, less than 1% of Uruguay’s marine ecosystems are protected.

###

ABOUT PRISTINE SEAS

National Geographic Pristine Seas works with Indigenous and local communities, governments and other partners to help protect vital places in the ocean using a unique combination of research, community engagement, policy work, strategic communications and media. Since 2008, our program has conducted more than 40 expeditions around the world and helped establish 28 marine reserves, spanning more than 6.6 million square kilometers of ocean.

Pristine Seas is part of the global non-profit, the National Geographic Society. Our mission is driven by scientists and filmmakers. We are fully independent from National Geographic publishing and its media arm.