Nations Approve First Antarctic Underwater Protection Zone Around Endurance Wreck

Nations governing Antarctic activities unanimously approved a UK Antarctic Heritage Trust proposal last month to designate the Endurance wreck site and surrounding waters as the first specially protected underwater zone in the Antarctic region. The vote took place at a meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources is scheduled to give final agreement on the proposal in September.

The 27-nation body, whose members include China and Russia, has previously faced deadlock over marine protected areas. The British Government commissioned the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust to oversee management of the Endurance site. Camilla Nichol, chief executive of the trust, said three years of discussions preceded the Hiroshima vote.

"South Korea, Japan, Norway, everyone around that table agreed that it matters," Nichol said. She cited declining seasonal ice coverage over the past decade and rising maritime traffic as reasons for the proposal. The wreck of Endurance lies 3,000 metres beneath the surface in the Weddell Sea.

The ship sank in 1915 after an ice shelf destroyed it. " The wreck was discovered in 2022. A submersible team captured three-dimensional imagery of the exterior but did not enter the hull. Researchers examining those images identified fist-sized squat lobsters of the genus Munidopsis on the wreck.

The genus Munidopsis feeds exclusively on timber. Dr Griffiths stated the species is likely new to science because it can withstand such low temperatures. The ship's timber appears as good as the day it went down because no sea life has evolved to consume wood in these waters.