Nations Pledge To Protect 65 Percent Of The Eastern Tropical Pacific
Definitions of what constitutes the Eastern Tropical Pacific vary widely. In some minds, including that of the author, the area can best be defined as the millions of square kilometers of ocean from the most northerly shores of Baja California to the colder coasts of Southern Peru. However, what everyone can agree on is an area called the Eastern Tropical Pacific (or ETP) Seascape, an area covering 770,000 square kilometers. Covering virtually the entirety of the waters of Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Panama, this area is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. It is the single most important shark migration route on the face of the planet, home to such sights as schooling hammerheads. It is also home to dozens of species of rays, endangered marine mammals, and some of the most threatened sea turtle populations anywhere in the seas. Protecting the Eastern Tropical Pacific has been a high priority for marine conservationists for decades, and COP26 saw the star