Chile Expands Ocean Protections Around Remote Juan Fernandez and Desventuradas Islands

Overview

In the southeastern Pacific Ocean, two remote island chains off the coast of Chile share a remarkable story that began with their discovery in 1574. The archipelagos of Juan Fernández and the Desventuradas Islands, separated by hundreds of miles of open ocean, together harbor what scientists consider to be the highest concentration of endemic marine species, that is, species found nowhere else on Earth.¹

In fact, more than 60% of these island chains’ coastal fish species are endemic.²

Recognizing the importance of this unique ecosystem, the Chilean government established two vast fully protected, no‑take marine parks. One in 2016 called the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park—the largest fully protected area in Chile at the time, spanning about 116,000 square miles (300,000 square kilometers)—and then another in 2018 called the Juan Fernández Marine Park, which added approximately 101,200 square miles (262,000 square kilometers) of full protection. Together, these two marine protected areas (MPAs) protect an area larger than France. Separately, the government also created a 15,000-square-mile (24,000-square-kilometer) multi-use zone that allows limited artisanal fishing and recreational use around the Juan Fernández archipelago.

The protected areas were established with strong local support, and a key development was the legal recognition of the community as co-managers of the MPAs. Since June 2024, the marine parks’ management council has included six representatives from government and seven from the Organización Comunitaria Funcional Mar de Juan Fernández (OCF Mar de Juan Fernández), the community-led organization that jointly manages the MPAs. The organization collaborates with local and international groups—including Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, Island Conservation, Blue Marine Foundation, and Patagonia Azul—to protect marine ecosystems and support sustainable livelihoods.

In 2025, OCF Mar De Juan Fernández developed a proposal to expand the marine protections around the Juan Fernández and Desventuradas Islands. Members of the organization went door to door in Robinson Crusoe, the population center of the Juan Fernández Islands, to consult with locals. Every household received information about the proposal by the end of August, and 99% of residents expressed their support.³

With that overwhelming support, OCF Mar de Juan Fernández officially asked the government in September to expand the fully protected areas to further safeguard the waters around the archipelagos from growing threats such as harmful industrial fishing, marine pollution, and potential seabed mining activities, and to build resilience against climate change and ocean acidification.

Following this request, Chile’s Ministry of Environment launched a month-long consultation process in February to solicit public feedback that was then passed along to the Council of Ministers for Sustainability and Climate Change, which ultimately recommended the president approve the expansion.⁴

On March 10, President Gabriel Boric signed a decree to create two new fully protected areas adjacent to the existing parks. The designated waters span across a total of 347,209 square miles (899,268 square kilometers) between the two ecoregions—an area roughly 20% larger than Chile’s land territory. Once these added safeguards are implemented, Chile will protect more than 50% of the country’s exclusive economic zone, representing a significant contribution to the global goal known as “30 by 30”—which was agreed to in 2022 by the Convention on Biological Diversity—to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.

Science has shown that limiting fishing and other harmful activities in large areas of the ocean can help protect marine life and its habitats. Protecting key areas, such as spawning and nursery grounds, is especially effective at rebuilding fish populations and supporting healthy fisheries immediately around the protected areas and beyond.⁵

Chile’s action to fully protect the remainder of the exclusive economic zones around the Desventuradas and the Juan Fernández Islands will better safeguard the ecoregions’ abundant and endemic marine biodiversity and highly vulnerable ecosystems.

Isolated islands shaped by powerful ocean forces

The Juan Fernández archipelago, located about 415 miles (670 kilometers) west of central Chile’s coast, is made up of three volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe (formerly Más a Tierra), Santa Clara, and Alejandro Selkirk (formerly Más Afuera). Fewer than 1,000 people live here, relying mainly on tourism and a lobster fishery for their livelihoods. Approximately 530 miles (850 kilometers) north of the archipelago are the Desventuradas Islands, which consist of San Félix and San Ambrosio. While there are no civilian inhabitants on these islands, San Félix is home to a Chilean navy detachment and the small Isla San Félix Airport.

Upwellings from the cold-water Humboldt current, which flows north from Antarctica along South America’s coast, force deep ocean nutrients to the surface, contributing to high levels of marine biodiversity.

Studies have shown the Juan Fernández archipelago creates a natural “island mass effect,” where ocean currents and winds further increase nutrients near the surface, which attracts an array of marine life to the area.⁶ While nearby open‑ocean waters can also be productive at times, the mass effect consistently amplifies this by generating chlorophyll‑rich wakes and eddies.⁷

Exceptional biodiversity—and what it takes to protect it

Scientific expeditions in 2014 found that 87.5% of the fish surrounding Robinson Crusoe Island and 72% surrounding San Ambrosio Island are endemic to the region—the highest level of endemism recorded in any marine ecosystem on the planet.⁸ When considering the wider Juan Fernández and Desventuradas region, approximately 62% of all reef fish species here exist nowhere else on Earth.⁹

Another expedition near the Juan Fernández archipelago in 2015 revealed the significant impacts trawling had on marine life, including evidence of near depletion of some fish species, such as alfonsino and orange roughy fish.¹⁰ Trawlers had not only depleted the target species but also destroyed ancient, slow-growing corals and decimated populations of top predators such as sharks and cod. In 2015, Chile became the first country to ban bottom trawling around all its seamounts—underwater mountains that rise hundreds to thousands of feet from the seafloor—but marine species are still recovering from its impacts.

The expedition also found promising signs of resilience within the protected areas. Small corals, like those thriving in the Desventuradas Islands, were beginning to recolonize, potentially serving as a seedbed for recovery. The discovery of dwarf lobsters and Juan Fernández splendid perch also provided evidence of the biological corridors connecting these distant archipelagos, suggesting that recovery, while slow, remained possible.

Andy Mann

New protections connect migratory corridors for vulnerable species

Across the world, marine species travel long distances along migratory pathways to feed and breed. To help marine life travel safely, marine scientists recommend the creation of interconnected regional networks of large and effective MPAs.¹¹

The expansion of the Chilean MPAs will protect a significant portion of the migratory corridor between Juan Fernández and the Desventuradas Islands, which protected marine mammals such as blue whales, humpback whales, southern right whales, and spotted dolphins use.¹² The larger protected areas will also benefit many fish species, green sea turtles, and sharks, such as shortfin makos and blue sharks.¹³

The Juan Fernández archipelago and Desventuradas Islands share a variety of marine flora and fauna that swim between the two areas, including endemic species such as the Juan Fernández lobster and Juan Fernández fur seal.

The connection between the archipelagos is also reflected above the waves with seabirds: Half of the species that nest in the Juan Fernández archipelago also call the Desventuradas Islands home.¹⁴ These pelagic wanderers rely on both archipelagos for feeding and migration, creating an aerial highway across the ocean, underscoring the importance of protecting connected marine habitats at scale.

Another key feature that supports biodiversity in this region are seamounts, which provide habitat for a wide variety of life, including corals, mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and marine mammals. They also provide refuge for migratory species, such as tuna, sea turtles, sharks, and whales. The Nazca-Desventuradas and Juan Fernández ecoregion contains 36 seamounts, the largest concentration in Chilean waters.¹⁵

And in a move that promises even further protections in the region, the community is collaborating on a proposal to safeguard nearby seamounts in international waters, along the Nazca Ridge, something that is now possible with the new U.N. high seas treaty in force.¹⁶

Eduardo Sorensen

Marine protections support artisanal fishing practices

Drawing on their ancestral knowledge, the people of Juan Fernández have led the effort to protect the region’s biologically rich waters that have been an integral part of the community’s history, culture, and livelihoods.

For more than 130 years, the artisanal fishers of Juan Fernández have used sustainable gear and have adhered to self-imposed regulations to ensure the conservation of the lobster fishery. Only licensed residents may harvest the Juan Fernández rock lobster—the main species caught here—and they do so with traditional wooden traps.

This fishery makes up about 46% of the Juan Fernández archipelago’s economy, but it is also a cultural practice that connects people to the islands’ heritage and the sea.¹⁷

In fact, when considering the creation of the MPAs, the Juan Fernández community prioritized the historical rights of artisanal fishers. The Chilean government honored this by including in the MPAs a multiple-use area around the Juan Fernández Islands where artisanal fishing can continue.

Conclusion

The Juan Fernández and Desventuradas Islands are home to some of the world’s most unique species and valuable habitats.

Research shows that large, fully protected marine areas are one of the most effective tools to conserve biodiversity and reduce the impacts of industrial activities.¹⁸ These MPAs not only safeguard marine life, but also help rebuild fish populations, strengthen nearby ecosystems, and protect cultures and livelihoods closely connected to the sea.¹⁹

By fully protecting 347,209 square miles (899,268 square kilometers) around the Juan Fernández and Desventuradas islands the Chilean government is safeguarding ocean biodiversity and supporting healthy fisheries, including the region’s 130-year-old lobster fishery. The expanded protections, and more that could come under the high seas treaty, will benefit local communities and help Chile, which has now protected more than 50% of its ocean territory, further contribute to the global 30 by 30 goal.²⁰

Endnotes

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