Today, UK overseas territory Tristan da Cunha – a remote island chain in the South Atlantic – has been declared a Marine Protection Zone, safeguarding habitat for millions of seabirds, fish and mammals.
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Out of sight doesn’t always mean out of mind. Despite being the remotest inhabited island chain on earth, Tristan da Cunha’s status as a pristine wildlife haven has not gone unnoticed. Today, a Marine Protection Zone almost three times the size of the UK has been established thanks to international collaboration* between governments, NGOs and the local islanders, instigated by the Tristan da Cunha government and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK). Stretching across 687,247km2 of land and sea, 90% of the marine area will be a complete “no-take zone”, where fishing and any other extractive activities are strictly limited.
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “This is a story two decades in the making, starting with the RSPB and Government of Tristan da Cunha commencing a conservation partnership, and culminating in the creation of this globally important protected area. The new Tristan Marine Protection Zone will be the biggest no-take area in the Atlantic.”
“Tristan da Cunha is a place like no other. The waters that surround this remote UK Overseas Territory are some of the richest in the world. Tens of millions of seabirds soar above the waves, penguins and seals cram onto the beaches, threatened sharks breed offshore and mysterious whales feed in the deep-water canyons. From today, we have massively bolstered efforts to keep this part of the world pristine for future generations.”
