the proposal seeks to transform how we look at the ocean and promote concrete actions for its conservation.
This extensive corridor of biodiversity off the coasts of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil is home to one of the greatest biological richness in the region. However, human pressure is increasingly evident. Plastic pollution, overfishing, maritime traffic and climate change are leaving their mark on species that play key ecological roles, warn Forum specialists.
Technology as an immersive window to the Patagonian Sea
As part of this campaign, the Forum invites the public to interact with an augmented reality filter available on social media, which allows direct experience of the contrasts between an ocean degraded by human action and a healthy one, teeming with life.
Designed for educational and awareness-raising purposes, the filter proposes to users to “clean” an underwater landscape invaded by residues to reveal a vibrant ecosystem, where four emblematic species of the Patagonian Sea emerge: the Green Turtle, the Magellanic Penguin, the Southern Right Whale and the Southern Elephant Seal.
Each of these species fulfills key ecological functions and is currently threatened by different human activities. Through this tool, people can learn about scientific knowledge, the value of biodiversity and the sense of urgency required for its protection.
The experience not only appeals to curiosity, but also to empathy: by interacting with the elements of the filter, the public can visualize in first person the impacts of pollution and reflect on the role we have in reversing them. Activate the filter now and immerse yourself in the experience for #MásVidaEnElMar (More Life At Sea).
Marine life, treasures to be conserved
One of the most affected species is the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), a regular visitor to Patagonian waters, which mistakes plastic waste for food.
Alejandro Fallabrino, Executive Director of Karumbé in Uruguay, points out that “in areas where they nest, the killing of eggs for consumption is one of the most worrying problems, while in Uruguay, where there are only juvenile green turtles that come to feed, the most important threats are bycatch in fishing gear and, more recently since 2001, traces of plastic that have begun to be found in this species (…). In 2011, the tragedy occurred when more than 300 turtles were recorded killed by plastics”.
The Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus), an emblematic bird of the Patagonian Sea, is also affected by plastic pollution. Maria Carolina Contato Weigert, Director of the Environmental Education and Monitoring Center in Brazil (NEMA), points out that many individuals that reach the Brazilian coasts in winter”.
Regarding the threats affecting the Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis), a symbol of resilience after centuries of commercial whaling, Dr. Mariano Sironi, Scientific Director of the Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas in Argentina (ICB), points out: “the southern right whale today faces new and diverse threats, some global, such as climate change or reduction in its main food source due to competition with the krill fishing industry, also collisions with ships and entanglement with fishing nets and ropes (…). In the case of the Península Valdés population, attacks by gulls that feed on the skin and blubber of live whales, and also the oil activity, currently threaten to affect a critical habitat in their breeding area.”
The Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina), according to Dr. Catherine Dougnac, Deputy Scientific Director of WCS Chile “(…) they are affected by different threats, both when they are at sea and when they are on the coasts (…) They go ashore during their reproductive period, and there they also face some risks, such as irresponsible tourism, which generates a very great pressure on them at a particularly sensitive time”. Likewise, on how plastic pollution affects this species she points out that pollution, both generated on land and in the sea, “affects them a lot, especially plastic waste, which is found on different coasts throughout the Patagonian Sea.”
On the other hand, in the 2023 breeding season, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 killed 97% of southern elephant seal pups (about 17,000 individuals) and an uncertain number of southern elephant seal breeding adults off the coast of Chubut. According to Julieta Campagna, conservation coordinator in the Valdés landscape of WCS Argentina, “This was the first record of mass mortality of southern elephant seals for this grouping, the only continental one of the species, besides representing the first world record of mass mortality of elephant seals due to avian influenza (…) It could take 100 years before the southern elephant seal grouping of the Valdés Peninsula returns to 18,000 reproductive females, as in 2022”. In this sense, Campagna emphasizes the importance of periodic monitoring to prevent new resurgences, the joint work with provincial authorities and beach users, and points out that “the zoning of sport fishing and all-terrain vehicles would contribute differentially to prevent mortality of young during the months of August to November. Every animal counts, and today more than ever”. Finally, she highlights the recent “approval of the law for the protection of elephant seals throughout the province of Chubut, whose objective is to contribute to their care, especially on beaches where the animals are exposed to human disturbance”.
For more than 20 years, the organizations that integrate the Forum for the Conservation of the Patagonian Sea have been working together to address these threats through concrete and collaborative strategies. Among its main lines of action are the promotion and strengthening of Marine Protected Areas under an adaptive management approach;
the promotion of public policies and environmental education initiatives to reduce plastic pollution, especially from fishing; the training of marine managers committed to conservation, through the School for Managers of Marine Protected Areas, which seeks to strengthen the capacities of those who implement key strategies in sites of high ecological importance; among other actions that seek to mitigate the threats that fragment and degrade the resilience of the Patagonian Sea and its areas of influence. These actions not only aim to protect emblematic species, but also to ensure the health and resilience of the marine ecosystem as a whole. Faced with a scenario of increasing pressure on the ocean, the Forum proposes to move towards collective solutions, based on scientific evidence and joint work between organizations, coastal communities and decision makers.
A call to see beyond the surface
Faced with the advance of threats, looking at the sea with different eyes implies recognizing that its destiny is intertwined with our own. The transformations we experience on land are also played out in the depths of the ocean. Therefore, building a citizenry committed to its care requires bringing science closer to the people, making visible what is at risk and generating experiences that mobilize.
The conservation of the Patagonian Sea is not the exclusive task of scientists or governments: it is a shared responsibility that begins with knowing, understanding and acting. At a time when the ocean seems distant, we are committed to new forms of connection that raise awareness and keep alive the possibility of a future with healthy,
diverse and full of life seas.
