Huge marine wildlife sanctuary created around remote UK territory
The waters around a remote UK Overseas Territor y in the Atlantic Ocean are to become o n e o f t h e wo r l d ' s l a r g e s t marine sanctuaries to protect wildlife.
The government of Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlant i c , h a s d e c l a r e d a 2 6 5 ,0 0 0 square mile marine protection zone in the territory's waters - an area almost three times the size of the UK.
The marine reser ve will be a no -take zone, with all fishing and other harmful activi t i e s b a n n e d t o p r o t e c t t h e wealth of wildlife found on and around the small chain of islands, including albatross, penguins, whales, sharks and seals.
It will make the p eople of Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited island on Earth, guardians of the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic Ocean and the fourth largest highly protected marine area in the world, conservationists said.
The sanctuary joins the UK'S "blue b elt" of protected are - a s a r o u n d ove r s e a s te r r i to - ries, with the British Government resp onsible for monitoring and enforcement of the reser ves using satellite technology.
Preventing fishing and other extractive activities will preserve habitats and fish stocks t h a t s e a b i r d s a n d m a r i n e mammals r e l y o n f o r f o o d . S ome 90% of the territorial waters of Tristan da Cunha will b e entirely off limits to fishing, with sustainable fishing permitted in the remaining 10% for the local community.
The announcement comes 25 years after Gough Island in the archipelago was declared a U n e s c o Wo r l d H e r i t a g e Site. There are also plans to eradicate invasive mice from Gough Island, where they prey on ground nesting bird eggs and chicks, though this was delayed by the pandemic.
T r i s t a n d a C u n h a C h i e f Islander James Glass said the community is deeply committed to conservation and half of the territory's land already has protected status. But the sea is our vital resource, for our
economy and ultimately for our long-term survival.beccy S p e i g h t , c h i e f e x e c u t ive o f the RSPB which has worked i n a c o n s e r v a t i o n p a r t n e r -
ship with the government of Tristan da Cunha for two decades, said: "Tristan da Cunha is a place like no other. The w a t e r s t h a t s u r r o u n d t h i s
remote UK Overseas Territory are some of the richest in the world.”