On April 4, 2017 the IUCN released a report in order to advance the recognition and conservation of globally significant natural marine sights in the Arctic.
Straddling the border of the United States and Russia, the Bering Strait is the Pacific gateway to the Arctic—and once formed a bridge for humans and other species traveling between North American and Eurasia during the last ice age. Millions of seabirds nest, forage and breed in the region and hundreds of thousands of whales, seals, walrus and other marine mammals migrate through the Strait each spring and fall, including humpback whales in transit from Mexico. But as the sea ice retreats and Arctic development grows, more and more ships are transiting the narrow 50-mile-wide passageway, raising the risk of collisions with wildlife, noise disturbance and the potential for oil spills.
