Antarctica - June 08, 2025 Antarctic Peninsula – Newly released underwater video footage has revealed severe damage caused by ship anchors to the fragile seafloor and marine life in one of the world’s most protected ecosystems. For the first time, scientists documented the impact of anchor and chain activity from cruise ships, research vessels, fishing boats, and private yachts operating in Antarctic waters. The videos show anchor scars, crushed sponge colonies, and seafloor grooves. In many places, marine life was absent near anchor points, while vibrant ecosystems thrived nearby. Researchers filmed at 36 locations across the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia Island during the 2022-23 austral summer. The footage showed damage from vessels anchoring as shallow as 82.5 meters. Among the threatened species were ancient giant volcano sponges, Antarctic sun stars, giant octopuses, and sea spiders. These slow-growing animals are vital to ecosystem health, offering food, shelter, and carbon filtration. Marine scientist Matthew Mulrennan called the damage a “near miss” for some of the planet’s oldest animals, believed to live up to 15,000 years. He warned anchoring is a critically overlooked conservation issue. Dr. Sally Watson noted that damage to cold-water ecosystems takes far longer to heal, potentially lasting for decades. Although Antarctica has strict conservation regulations, ship anchoring remains largely unregulated and undocumented. Scientists urge immediate research into recovery times and long-term impacts. Without anchoring records, they say, it’s nearly impossible to measure the scale of destruction or prevent future harm.