March 21, 2024

Open letter to Her Excellence

Hon. Dina Ercilla Boluarte Zegarra,
President of the Republic of Peru

Dear Madam President:

As members of the global conservation community, we the undersigned wish to express our
concern at the decision of the Peruvian government to allow industrial fishing in the Nasca Ridge
National Reserve. Moreover, it is our understanding that this prejudicial precedent is being
considered for additional potential marine protected areas (MPAs) that are under evaluation.

The Nasca Ridge is part of a globally important underwater mountain range and habitat that
includes endemic and threatened species. Thus, its conservation by the establishment of a
protected area should have been a globally important achievement. However, by allowing
industrial fishing within the MPA, it is now what we call a “paper park” – protected in name only
and failing to achieve its conservation objectives.

According to international standards, a marine area where fishing is allowed at an industrial

scale cannot be considered a protected area. The International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), of which Peru is a member, in the document “Applying IUCN’s Global
Conservation Standards to Marine Protected Areas (MPA) 1, states the following:

“If fishing or other extractive activities are compatible with a MPA’s objective(s), and are
permitted within the MPA, they must have a low ecological impact, be sustainable, be well
managed as part of an integrated approach to management, and fit within the definition and
category of an IUCN protected area. Any industrial activities and infrastructural developments
(e.g. mining, industrial fishing, oil and gas extraction) are not compatible with MPAs”.
(The underlined are the specific issues we are concerned about regarding the Nasca
Ridge MPA.)

This same criteria was adopted by the countries and member organizations at the IUCN’s World
Conservation Congress (held in Marseille in November 2020) through resolution WCC-2020-
RES-055-ES2, which seeks to ensure that "industrial fishing" is not allowed in marine protected
areas since it is not compatible with their conservation objectives.

The international consensus on the incompatibility of industrial fishing with protected areas is
based on the abundant scientific evidence that shows the negative impacts that this activity has
on the expected benefits of this conservation tool, especially with respect to the recovery of fish
stocks and food security of coastal communities. Experts agree that marine areas free of
industrial fishing generate greater economic benefits in the long term, even for the industrial
fishing sector.

Therefore, we urge you to reconsider the decision to allow industrial fishing in the Nasca Ridge

1
Available in Spanish here: https://www.iucn.org/sites/default/files/2022-
10/applying_mpa_global_standards_spanish_v030518.pdf
2
Available in Spanish here:
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/resrecfiles/WCC_2020_RES_055_ES.pdf

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National Reserve, or any other protected marine area in Peru’s waters. Otherwise, the MPAs
would not comply with the minimum standards to be considered protected and would not add
to Peru's international commitments such as the goals sets by the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework.

Sincerely,

Prince Hussain Aga Khan

Conservationist, Photographer and Founder, Focused on Nature

Max Bello
Policy Director, Mission Blue

Alexandra Cousteau
Explorer and Ocean Advocate

Ted Danson
Actor

Jane Fonda
Actor/Activist

Maya Gabeira
Big Wave Surfer / 2 X Biggest Wave World Record and Ocean Advocate

César Gaviria Trujillo

Former President Republic of Colombia
Former Secretary General of OAS

Rob Lowe
Actor/Activist

Dr. Daniel Pauly

Professor of Fisheries, University of British Columbia

David Rockefeller, Jr.

Martin Sheen
Actor/ Activist

Dr. Rashid Sumaila

Professor, University of British Columbia

Lily Tomlin
Actor/Activist

Ted Waitt
Founder & Chairman, Waitt Foundation and Waitt Institute

Sam Waterston
Actor/Activist

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