Conserving the oldest historic sites in the Antarctic: the challenges in managing the sealing sites in the South Shetland Islands

ABSTRACT The fur seal population of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, was intensively hunted by sealers from the discovery of the islands in 1819 to the early 1820s, by which time the seal numbers were so depleted that sealing became uneconomic. Sealing was revived for both fur seals and eleph...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Authors: Pearson, Michael, Stehberg, Ruben, Zarankín, Andrés, Senatore, M. Ximena, Gatica, Carolina
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2009
Subjects:
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Ecology
Geography, Planning and Development
Antarctic
The Antarctic
South Shetland Islands
Antarc*
Antarctica
Elephant Seals
Polar Record
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409008389
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247409008389
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT The fur seal population of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, was intensively hunted by sealers from the discovery of the islands in 1819 to the early 1820s, by which time the seal numbers were so depleted that sealing became uneconomic. Sealing was revived for both fur seals and elephant seals at several periods later in the century. Sealers were put ashore in gangs and built makeshift shelters in which to live, and also occupied caves. Many of these have been identified on the various islands of the South Shetlands, and a number have been excavated. The paper addresses some of the management issues facing the conservation of these sites, which include accelerating tourism, disturbance by scientific researchers, disturbance by animal activity, burial or erosion by drifting sand, and climate change.

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