Draft Revised Management Plan for ASPA 149, Cape Shirreff and San Telmo Island, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

A draft revised Management Plan for ASPA 149 is being considered through an intersessional contact group formed during the 2004 meeting of the CEP/ATCM. Since a marine area is included in the plan, approval is required by CCAMLR. It should be noted that this area is also a CEMP site (Conservation Measure 91-02 (2000)). The draft management plan for ASPA 149 was prepared in accordance with the provisions of Annex V to the Environmental Protocol and consistent with the Guide to the Preparation of Management Plans for Antarctic Specially Protected Areas. In preparing the draft plan, a detailed assessment of the values of the site and of the measures necessary to protect the site was undertaken. A field visit was made to the site in February 2001 to verify information and to ensure that the information in the draft plan is accurate and up-to-date. The boundaries of the site have been revised in this draft Management Plan to include a larger marine component and to incorporate the two new sites where plant fossils were discovered. The site (9.7 km2) now comprises the entire Cape Shirreff peninsula north of the permanent Livingston Island ice cap, the San Telmo Island group, and the surrounding and intervening marine area enclosed within 100 m of the coast of the Cape Shirreff peninsula and of the outer islets of the San Telmo Island group. The boundary extends from the San Telmo Island group to the south of Mercury Bluff, and includes the adjacent part of the Livingston Island permanent ice cap where the fossil discoveries were recently made. Wildlife population estimates were updated where possible. Original values to be protected were reaffirmed, although specific references to plant and invertebrate communities were removed because no data were available to substantiate the presence and extent of these communities. Waste disposal policies were updated. Specific air access guidelines were added to the plan, including preferred flight paths, designated landing areas, and a no-fly zone over wildlife concentrations. Maps were updated to reflect these changes, and improved with current mapping technology and additional labeling of important features.