Chile’s recent decision to make its Pacific Ocean territorial waters a whale sanctuary is another step in the right direction to protect the world’s declining populations of marine mammals. In September, the Chilean Congress unanimously passed a bill put forward by President Michelle Bachelet that bans whale hunting for commercial and scientific purposes off Chile’s expansive coastline.

The news is encouraging, especially in light of recovering humpback whale populations in the Straits of Magellan, as well as the discovery of the blue whale nursery in the Gulf of Corcovado, which separates Chiloe Island from the Chilean mainland.

Whaling was common in Chile until the 1970s, when there were increasing concerns over the dwindling numbers of whales locally and internationally. This was reinforced by a moratorium placed on commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986. In passing the bill, Chile is sending a clear message of its commitment to protect whales in its territory.

Barbara Galletti, president of the Centro de Conservacion Cetacea (CCC), one of the main groups involved with the campaign to make a whale sanctuary in Chile, stated, “We are certain that this is the most important marine conservation legacy achieved for future generations and the foundation to construct new agreements oriented to the protection of the marine biodiversity.”

By creating the whale sanctuary, Chile joins other Latin American nations-including Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama-who have already banned whale hunting. However, there is still a long way to go before whales all over the world can enjoy such protection. In recent years, nations such as Norway and Iceland have resumed commercial whaling while Japan continues to hunt whales under the guise of “research.”