Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park

In 2008, at the Deepsea Coral Symposium in Wellington, New Zealand, the idea to create a marine protected area around the Salas y Gómez and Nazca underwater ridges was presented for the first time. In 2009, the World Wildlife Fund published a study in the Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research. It gave scientific reasons to create a marine protected area. In March 2010, Oceana, National Geographic, Catholic University of the North, the Chilean Navy and other experts went on an expedition to Salas y Gómez Island. They studied the unique species and asked the government to create a marine park. The decree creating the park was signed on 18 November 2010 by the Minister of Economy Juan Andrés Fontaine and the Minister of Environment María Ignacia Benítez. Pierre Yves, the son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, was also present. President Sebastián Piñera said the park was very important because it is a refuge for millions of seabirds and many fish and invertebrate species. Some of them exist only in this place. However, Greenpeace criticized the creation. They called it a "paper park" because the decree did not forbid industrial fishing, including bottom trawling, which had damaged the area before. == Management ==

The park is managed together by the Rapa Nui people and the Chilean state. The council has 11 members: 6 are Rapa Nui representatives chosen by election, and the other 5 come from different ministries of the Chilean government. == Biodiversity ==

The waters around Salas y Gómez Island are one of the least disturbed marine places in the world. The island is important for seabirds and migratory birds that come to nest. Out of 93 seabird nesting sites in Chile, 12 are on this island. Species include the Christmas shearwater, the polynesian storm petrel, and the red-tailed tropicbird. The Galápagos shark is very common in these waters. Local fishermen say they are found only here in great numbers. Other species include lantern sharks (Etmopterus), mollusks such as Nerita morio and Cypraea caputdraconis, and many invertebrates and fish living in the underwater mountains. == References ==