MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Falklands’ stamps and the story of the only reindeer world population unaffected by the Chernobyl radioactive fallout]]> Official first day cover One of the latest Falkland Islands Post Philatelic office is dedicated to the South Georgia reindeer, introduced by the Norwegian whalers and how they adapated to Southern Atlantic climate, living conditions and were later transferred to the Falklands.

]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2026 05:44:00 GMT <![CDATA[South Georgia Fisheries Protection Vessel, 20th Anniversary of Pharos SG]]> The core mission of Pharos SG has been the enforcement of South Georgia’s internationally respected fisheries management regime For the past twenty years, the Pharos SG has been a constant and vital presence in the waters surrounding South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, safeguarding one of the most remote and ecologically significant marine environments on the planet.

]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2026 02:58:00 GMT <![CDATA[Falklands Post Office celebrates 10th Anniversary of the Blue Belt Program]]> The UK Overseas Territories (OTs) are home to 90% of the UK’s biodiversity. Since its launch in 2016, the UK Blue Belt Program has worked in partnership with OTs’ Governments to enhance the protection and sustainable management of these unique marine environments, marking a decade of collaborative ocean stewardship. In total, 4,309,000 km² of the world’s oceans are protected by the Blue Belt Program. That is an area 18 times the size of the UK. Falklands Post Office celebrates such an achievement with the release of specific stamps issues.

]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2026 02:55:00 GMT <![CDATA[Falklands’ Gentoo Penguin Postcard Rate Booklet Stamps]]> For the past decade Sara has worked aboard expedition ships as an expedition leader, and during the Covid period spent time working aboard the fisheries patrol vessel Pharos SG in South Georgia The new airmail postcard rate stamps from the Falkland Islands feature a beautiful and unusual photograph of a Gentoo Penguin taken by Sara Jenner. The stamps are available in booklets of 10 stamps. Currently the postcard rate in the Falklands is £1.60.

]]> Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:17:00 GMT <![CDATA[South Georgia Visitor Permit fees; online portal for visiting vessels]]> Visitor applications must be submitted and paid for no later than 8 days before the intended arrival date. 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.

]]> Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:17:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentina joins FAO treaty against illegal fishing, tightening control in the South Atlantic]]> The area is cut across by the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falklands 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.

]]> Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:18:00 GMT <![CDATA[Scientists begin first study of whisky matured in Antarctica]]> Isla Marambio spent three years on the ice at an Argentine research station and is now one of eight single malts being analyzed to see how extreme climates shape whisky 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.

]]> Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:01:00 GMT <![CDATA[British Antarctic Survey confirms Antarctica's first dinosaur fossil, 40 years on]]> The fossil was collected in December 1985 by geologist Mike Thomson, of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), during an expedition to James Ross Island, on the Antarctic Peninsula 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.

]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:51:00 GMT <![CDATA[Australia reports bird flu has killed 13.000 elephant seal pups in Heard and McDonald islands]]> Australian Antarctic Program says mortality in some elephant seal “harems” as high as 97%. 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.

]]> Sat, 20 Jun 2026 20:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[IAATO's new Geofenced Whale Area around South Orkney Islands]]> Happywhale's Ted Cheeseman called the South Orkney Islands an 'oceanic Serengeti for whales (Pic Gennaa Rowland) 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.

]]> Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:20:00 GMT