Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary

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Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary: A Marine Biodiversity Haven

The Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, is a significant marine protected area located approximately 506 kilometers off the coast of Colombia. Encompassing Malpelo Island and its surrounding marine environment spanning 857,150 hectares, this sanctuary serves as a vital habitat for numerous globally threatened marine species and boasts one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Located some 506 km off the coast of Colombia, the site includes Malpelo island (350 ha) and the surrounding marine environment (857,150 ha). This vast marine park, the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, provides a critical habitat for internationally threatened marine species, and is a major source of nutrients resulting in large aggregations of marine biodiversity. It is in particular a ‘reservoir' for sharks, giant grouper and billfish and is one of the few places in the world where sightings of the short-nosed ragged-toothed shark, a deepwater shark, have been confirmed. Widely recognized as one of the top diving sites in the world, due to the presence of steep walls and caves of outstanding natural beauty, these deep waters support important populations of large predators and pelagic species (e.g. aggregations of over 200 hammerhead sharks and over 1,000 silky sharks, whale sharks and tuna have been recorded) in an undisturbed environment where they maintain natural behavioural patterns.

Encyclopedia Record: Malpelo Island

Malpelo is an oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 500 km (310 mi) west of the Colombian mainland with a military post defended by the Colombian Armed Forces. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest being the 300 m (980 ft) Cerro de la Mona. The island is about 1.5 kilometres in length from northeast to southwest, and 640 metres across at its widest.

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