In November 2023, the Blue Nature Alliance launched a new partnership with the Coral Reef of the High Seas Coalition (CRHS) to advance protections in the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges, an ecologically and culturally important area of the high seas spanning 2,900 kilometers off the coast of Chile and Peru. The partnership aims to support the designation of 1.1 million square kilometers of new protections in international waters surrounding the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges through investments in science, policy, and communication activities to garner support for fishing closure within the intergovernmental bodies regulating the convention area. 

Between January - April 2024, the Alliance and CRHS worked together with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the University Católica del Norte, and others to support two scientific expeditions through the Schmidt Ocean Institute Falkor (too) Vessel. These cruises will strengthen our understanding of the region’s biodiversity and connectivity, and reinforce the need for protections in Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges, as well as the high seas more broadly. Please check out this Q&A by the Blue Nature Alliance to hear from the expeditions’ Lead Scientist, Dr. Erin E. Easton, and Coral Reefs of the High Seas Director, Haydée Rodríguez.  

About the project

The Blue Nature Alliance is a global partnership founded and led by Conservation International, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Global Environment Facility, Minderoo Foundation, and the Rob Walton Foundation. With a goal of catalyzing 18 million square kilometers of ocean conservation area, the Alliance partners and aligns with those that share our ambition, including governments, NGOs, Indigenous peoples, local communities, scientists, and communities of practice.

For more information, please contact Madeline Beattie (mbeattie@conservation.org), visit the project page on iwlearn.net or the project website.