For generations, humpback whales have traveled to the southern coast of Argentina to calve and nurse. Giant petrels and imperial cormorants come to nest, and sea lions and Magellanic penguins congregate. It is one of the most wildlife-rich corners of the South Atlantic Ocean and is sometimes called “the Galápagos of Argentina”—but until recently, many of the animals were threatened by industrial fishing.
A new marine provincial park, the area’s first, will change that. Argentina’s new Patagonia Azul Provincial Park expands the previous protected sliver of land dramatically, effectively safeguarding a marine coastal area that’s roughly the size of Yosemite National Park (or 729,294 acres). Not only does the acreage protect the area’s plentiful wildlife, who come to feed and breed, but it safeguards over 60 islands and islets, kelp forests, and rugged coastal habitats.
“This is a resounding win for marine conservation,” Sofia Heinonen, executive director of Rewilding Argentina, said in a press release shared with Travel + Leisure. “Patagonia Azul places under legal protection one of the most biodiverse areas of the Argentine Sea with over 50 species of seabirds, many of which nest in the more than 60 islands and islets with kelp forests, islands and rocky intertidal areas that support unique ecosystems where diverse kinds of sea life converge.”
Rewilding Argentina, a conservation organization that purchases private land and donates it for national parks, provided the land that will act as the entrance to the park and its islands. It will also help the park develop facilities for visitors—like campgrounds and trails—and continue monitoring populations of humpback whales, petrels, penguins, and sea lions.
The formation of the park was led by the government of Chubut (the local province), Argentine National Parks Administration, non-governmental organizations, and the local community of Camarones.
The new, expansive Patagonia Azul Provincial Park is connected to other renowned wildlife areas via a scenic coastal road that runs from the Cabo Dos Bahías Protected Natural Area, which is known for its penguin colony, to the village of Bahía Bustamante, the only town in Argentina dedicated to collecting seaweed and mussels.
Plans are underway to make the new park more suited to visitors, including the addition of hiking trails, campsites, a biological station, and marine access points.
