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They are some of the most remote islands in the world, a safe haven where the mutinous crew of HMS Bounty hid undiscovered for nearly 20 years.
But now a network of underwater cameras will put the waters of the Pitcairn Islands under constant surveillance.
It is part of an effort to protect an 834,000 square kilometer marine reserve established around the four islands that make up the group.
The cameras will be part of the world’s largest ocean wildlife monitoring system. to help protect life underwater.
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Iain McGregor / Stuff
Wellington is 5333 km away and Santiago, Chile, 5776 km from Pitcairn Island.
In September 2012, the Pitcairn Council voted unanimously to create the marine protected area (MPA), but since the islands are administered by the United Kingdom, the new reserve required the support of the British government.
That happened in 2015, when it was designated the world’s largest continuous marine reserve. It is now the third largest.
The islands have some of the cleanest waters in the world, some of the pristine coral reefs left on the plane, and an abundance of marine life. It is believed to be home to more than 1,200 species of fish, marine mammals, and birds.
Iain McGregor / Stuff
Pitcairn residents asked the British government to create a marine reserve.
The Pitkerners wanted to protect their waters from illegal fishing by foreign fleets and a “no-fishing” zone was established.
Since 2016, an ocean drone has been used to monitor unauthorized fishing.
The network of underwater camera equipment, known as Bait Remote Underwater Video Stations or BRUVS, is being set up as part of the UK government’s Blue Belt program, which covers more than four million square kilometers of ocean.
BRUVs are made up of two small action cameras and record all the creatures that appear in their overlapping field of view. They have been used in 70 surveys in 35 international locations since the early 2000s.
They will observe species in ten overseas territories: Pitcairn, Ascension, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat and within the British Antarctic Territory.
In a statement, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The marine fauna that lives along the coasts of our Overseas Territories is one of the most spectacular in the world and we must do more to protect it.
“State-of-the-art technology, like these cameras, will be vital in our crusade against climate change. Our marine experts are world leaders in protecting our ocean and the vast number of species that live in it. “
Iain McGregor / Stuff
East Beach of Henderson Island.
Pitcairn is the only inhabited island, with Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno scattered across several hundred miles of the Pacific Ocean.
Henderson is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, but islanders were distraught to discover in 2015 that it is covered in plastic trash, washed up from around the world.
An expedition in 2019 collected six tons of trash from a beach, but weather and tidal patterns prevented recovery.
