Malpelo Island, the westernmost Colombian possession in the Pacific Ocean, is about 500 km from Buenaventura. By an interesting coincidence, it is located practically the same length as the island of Quitasueño Key, the westernmost portion of the San Andrés archipelago in the Caribbean. Malpelo is the only mainland that rises from the volcanic oceanic mountain range of the same name that runs from northeast to southwest for about 300 km; it has never been connected to the mainland or to any other island.

Apart from the territorial sea that projects from Malpelo, the island has a fundamental value for Colombia in these hard times. While marine wealth, i.e. biodiversity, and even more abundance appear diminished and in decline in many sectors of our two seas, the opposite is clearly the case on the island. For example, the recent inventory of the fishes of our Pacific by Professor Jose Tavera (Universidad del Valle, Cali) and collaborators found that about 3% of the almost 800 listed fish species can only be found in Malpelo, which hosts more than a hundred species.

However, what is in the process of being adequately quantified is its exuberant abundance of marine life, particularly fish, both bony and cartilaginous. Malpelo is an oasis that harbors organisms of great interest that are threatened with extinction worldwide, such as the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) and the ray shark (Odontaspis ferox), as well as gigantic aggregations of bony fishes of enormous commercial importance, such as the bigeye jacks (Caranx sexfasciatus), the silky snappers and silky snappers (Lutjanus aratus and L. jordani) and cod and leather groupers (Mycteroperca olfax and Dermatolepis dermatolepis). Conservative estimates put the island’s fish biomass at hundreds of tons.

In this context, it is fair to highlight the fundamental conservation work carried out by Colombia’s National Natural Parks. The island and its adjacent islets, plus the surrounding area, constitute the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, the largest area in the American Pacific where fishing is restricted; since 2006, UNESCO has included it in the list of World Heritage Sites. In recent years, Parques Nacionales has maintained a permanent presence in the island’s waters, ensuring that it is not the scene of activities unrelated to protection and research.

To honor Unesco’s designation, it is clear that Colombians are now accountable to humanity for the proper conservation of this enormous and priceless treasure. It is evident that we are still far from understanding, from a scientific point of view, what are the keys to the functioning of this magnificent reservoir. As long as we achieve a holistic understanding of Malpelo, let us continue to care for it as one of the crown jewels that still make us proud and amazed.