Guidelines of Conduct for Antarctica Visitors

The following guidelines have been adopted by all members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and will be made available to all visitors traveling with them to Antarctica.

With your cooperation we will be able to operate environmentally-conscious expeditions that protect and preserve Antarctica, leaving the continent unimpaired for future generations.

Please thoroughly study and follow these guidelines. By doing so, you will make an important contribution towards the conservation of the Antarctic ecosystem and minimize visitor impact. It will also help to insure that you will have a safe and fulfilling experience in visiting one of the most exciting and fascinating places on earth.

1. Do not disturb, harass or interfere with the wildlife.
   • Never touch the animals.
   • Maintain a distance of at least 15 feet (4.5 meters) from penguins, all nesting birds and true seals (crawling seals), and 50 feet (15 meters) from fur seals.
   • Do not position yourself between a marine animal and its path to the water, nor between a parent and its young.
   • Always be aware of your surroundings; stay outside the periphery of bird rookeries and seal colonies.
   • Keep noise to a minimum.
   • Do not feed the animals, either ashore or from a ship.
   Most of the Antarctic species exhibit a lack of fear which allows you to approach relatively close; however, please remember that the austral summer is a time for courting, mating, nesting, rearing young and molting. If any animal changes or stops its activities upon your approach, you are too close! Be especially careful while taking photographs, since it is easy to not notice adverse reactions of animals when concentrating through the lens of a camera. Disturbing nesting birds may cause them to expose their eggs/offspring to predators or cold.

   Maintain a low profile since animals can be intimidated by people standing over them. The disturbance of some animals, most notably fur seals and nesting skuas, may elicit an aggressive, and even dangerous, response.

2. Do not walk on or otherwise damage the fragile plants; i.e. mosses, lichens and grasses.

   Poor soil and harsh living conditions mean growth and regeneration of these plants is extremely slow. Most of the lichens, which grow only on rocks, hard-packed sand and gravel, and bones, are extremely fragile. Damage from human activity among the moss beds can last for decades.

3. Leave nothing behind, and take only memories and photographs.
   • Leave no litter ashore (and remove any litter you may find while ashore); dispose of litter properly.
   • Do not paint names or leave graffiti anywhere in Antarctica.
   • Do not bring any animals or plants into Antarctica.
   • Do not take souvenirs, including whale and seal bones, live or dead animals, rocks, fossils, plants, other organic material, or anything which may be of historical or scientific value.
4. Do not interfere with protected areas or scientific research.
   • Do not enter buildings at the research stations unless invited to do so.
   • Avoid entering all officially protected areas, and do not disturb any ongoing scientific studies. Areas of special scientific concern are clearly delineated by markers and/or described in official records (the expedition staff know these sites). Scientific research in Antarctica is in the interest of everyone... visitors, scientists, and laymen.
5. Historic huts may only be entered when accompanied by a properly authorized escort.
   • Nothing may be removed from or disturbed within historic huts.
   Historic huts are essentially museums, and they are all officially maintained and monitored by various governments.

6. Do not smoke during shore excursions.

   Fire is a very serious hazard in the dry climate of Antarctica. Great care must be taken to safeguard against this danger, particularly around wildlife areas, historic huts, research buildings, and storage facilities.

7. Stay with your group or with one of the ship's leaders when ashore.
   • Follow the directions of the expedition staff.
   • Never wander off alone or out of sight of others.
   • Do not hike onto glaciers or large snow fields, as there is a real danger of falling into hidden crevasses.