LONDON (AP) – Tristan da Cunha, an island with 245 permanent residents, is being built to protect endangered rockhopper penguins, yellow-nosed albatrosses and other wildlife in the South Atlantic, three times the size of the United Kingdom. .
The British Foreign Office, which calls itself the most remote island on earth, said on Friday it would ban fishing and other “extraction activities” from the 627,247 square kilometers (242,181 square miles) of sea around Trishan da Cunha and the archipelago. . The other three main islands.
The sanctuary will be the largest “no-tech zone” in the Atlantic Ocean and the fourth largest anywhere in the world, home to aquatic fish and the millions of seabirds that feed on them, the region said. According to the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, this different region, roughly identical between South Africa and Argentina, supports 85% of penguins, 11 species of whales and dolphins on endangered northern rock per, and most of the world’s sub-Antarctic fur seals. According to the Legacy Project.
“Our life at Trishan da Cunha has always been based on our relationship with the sea and continues to this day,” said James Glass, the region’s chief islander. “That’s why we’re fully protecting 90% of our water, and we’re proud that we can play a key role in protecting the health of the oceans.”
The defense zone will be part of the UK’s Blue Belt program, which provides 27 27 million ($ 35.5 million) to promote maritime defense in the country’s overseas territories. The Office of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the initiative now protects 11.1 million square kilometers (3.3 million square miles) of the marine atmosphere or 1% of the world’s oceans.
The waters around Tristan da Cunha serve as a feeding ground for critically endangered Tristan albatrosses and endangered yellow-nosed albatrosses.
According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the islands are home to other endemic land bird species, including Wilkins Bunting, a rare bird in the UK, and the inaccessible rail, the world’s smallest flightless bird.
The Pew Bertarelli project, which promotes the creation of marine reserves around the world, said it would help Truston da Cunha protect its waters with technology that uses real-time data to assess marine conditions and human activity, such as fishing. The project is a joint venture between the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Bertarelli Foundation.
“This ambitious decision by the Truston da Cunha Island Council to save the archipelago’s waters is a great example of local leadership that has a global impact,” said Donna Bertreli, co-chair of the Bertrelli Foundation, in a statement.
The region includes four main islands, the largest of which is Tristan da Cunha, 2,810 kilometers (approximately 1,750 miles) west of Cape Town, South Africa. It was discovered by the Dutch in 1643.
The British occupied Tristan da Cunha in 1816, establishing the first permanent settlement in the region. The island was evacuated after a volcanic eruption in 1961, but the islanders returned in 1963.
The region’s highest source of income is commercial fishing for crayfish, known as the Tristan Rock Lobster, which is sold as a luxury product in the U.S., Europe, Japan and China.
“This small community is responsible for the biggest defense achievements of 2020,” said Becks Spit, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. “This will protect one of the oldest marine environments on the planet.”
.
