Antarctica

• Wednesday, August 5th 2026 - 14:17 UTC

  South Georgia Visitor Permit fees; online portal for visiting vessels

  

  The Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has published a notice in the Gazette setting out visitor permit fees for the next three seasons, with effect from July first 2026.

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• Tuesday, July 21st 2026 - 20:18 UTC

  Argentina joins FAO treaty against illegal fishing, tightening control in the South Atlantic

  

  Argentina on July 17 enacted the law approving its accession to the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a significant step for fisheries governance in the southwest Atlantic. The treaty, in force since 2016, is the only binding international instrument specifically designed to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

• Monday, July 20th 2026 - 19:01 UTC

  Scientists begin first study of whisky matured in Antarctica

  

  A team of scientists has begun the first analysis of a whisky matured in Antarctica, aiming to determine what three years at temperatures as low as -35°C did to the spirit's maturation, chemistry and taste.

• Friday, July 10th 2026 - 18:51 UTC

  British Antarctic Survey confirms Antarctica's first dinosaur fossil, 40 years on

  

  A bone collected in Antarctica four decades ago has been identified as the first dinosaur fossil found on the continent, according to a study published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. It is a tail vertebra from a titanosaur, the group of long-necked sauropods that includes the largest land animals that ever lived.

• Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 20:35 UTC

  Australia reports bird flu has killed 13.000 elephant seal pups in Heard and McDonald islands

  

  The pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N1 has killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on a sub-Antarctic volcanic island, Australian scientists from the Antarctic Program discovered.

• Tuesday, June 9th 2026 - 14:20 UTC

  IAATO's new Geofenced Whale Area around South Orkney Islands

  

  On World Oceans Day the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the Southern Ocean by announcing the establishment of a new voluntary “Geofenced Whale Area” around the South Orkney Islands beginning in the 2026/27 Antarctic season.

• Sunday, June 7th 2026 - 07:56 UTC

  Report warns foreign fleets off Argentina catch up to four times the national industry's haul

  

  Foreign fleets operating along the outer edge of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) —the so-called Mile 201— extract up to four times the volume caught by the entire national fishing industry, according to a report by the Latin American Foundation for Fisheries Sustainability (FULASP) released on the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The organization called the activity one of the main threats to the fishery resources of the South-West Atlantic.

• Wednesday, June 3rd 2026 - 08:30 UTC

  BAS confirmed as world’s leading center for Antarctic and Southern Ocean research

  

  A major new analysis has confirmed the UK’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS) as the world’s leading center for Antarctic and Southern Ocean research. This was revealed during the Antarctic treaty Consultive Meeting, ATCM, recent May meeting in Japan that convened Antarctic Leaders and government official from across the world.

• Thursday, May 21st 2026 - 18:41 UTC

  Gentoo Penguins Are Actually Four Different Species, Latest Scientists Research, Smithsonian Magazine

  

  A new study indicates that the adaptable marine birds evolved into distinct lineages as isolated populations shifted to match their environmental conditions over time. The work has implications for how conservationists assess threats to Gentoos. (Piece by Carlyn Kranking, Associate Web Editor, Science, Communications Biology)

• Thursday, May 21st 2026 - 18:11 UTC

  Falklands reaffirms close relationship with IAATO; Marketplace Expo in USA

  

  Reaffirming the close relationship and collaboration members from the Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC) team led a coalition of Falkland Islands businesses for the inaugural Marketplace Expo during the International Association for Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) Annual meeting, which was held in late April, in Annapolis, Maryland, USA.