“The Southern Ocean, surrounding Antarctica, is one of the least altered marine ecosystems on Earth and is important for climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and fisheries production. The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is one of the most rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet and is an area of rich biodiversity. In January 2019, the governments of Chile and Argentina, in collaboration with National Geographic Pristine Seas, organized an expedition to the WAP, with the aim to provide scientific, policy, and communication support, at a global scale, to the Marine Protected Area proposal for the Antarctic Peninsula-South Scotia Arc (D1MPA) that was put forward jointly by the two countries in October 2018. The D1MPA would protect biodiversity hotspots as well as representative and unique benthic and pelagic habitats and the results from the expedition are helping to support this effort“.