The Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) is pleased to announce that enhanced Marine Protected Area (MPA) measures have officially come into force today (22nd April), following the signing of new legislation by Her Excellency the Commissioner, Alison Blake CMG.
Since joining GSGSSI in 2018 as Director of Fisheries and Environment, Dr Mark Belchier has been responsible for managing an area of extremely remote sub-Antarctic Ocean to ensure the conservation of the region’s extraordinary marine biodiversity. The South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands MPA has become a model for how conservation can be achieved alongside highly precautionary tourism and sustainable fisheries.
The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands has announced that will launch a new electronic permit system (EPS) for visitors to the Territories in advance of the next tourist season, replacing the current system of levying landing fees by an individual visitor permit charge.
The world’s largest iceberg has run aground in shallow waters off the Island of South Georgia. The iceberg, which is about twice the size of Greater London, appears to be stuck on the continental shelf and should start breaking up on the island’s south-west shores.
The Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands is aware of and closely monitoring the movement of iceberg A23a. Icebergs are a regular occurrence in the Southern Ocean, and we anticipate A23a will run aground before it reaches the landmass of South Georgia.
The tragic events of Monday the 22nd of July leading to the loss of thirteen of our Officers and Crew have been well documented and communicated by the Falkland Island Government.
The team at GSGSSI are profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of the fishing vessel Argos Georgia, which succumbed to the forces of the South Atlantic Ocean overnight on Monday 22nd July 2024, with the loss of many of those aboard.
Following an incident yesterday afternoon roughly 200 nautical miles east of Stanley that led to uncontrolled flooding, 27 crew members from the fishing vessel Argos Georgia were forced to abandon ship shortly after 4PM local time and crew members took to life rafts. The BFSAI A-400M ‘Atlas’ was the first asset on scene and was able to track and report the and position of the life rafts. Between the BFSAI ‘Atlas’ and A-330 ‘Voyager’ aircraft, overwatch has been maintained overnight and continues.