2016 begins with the creation of the largest marine reserve in the Atlantic Ocean:
Ascension Island waters are to be protected
The Great British Oceans coalition is proud to announce that the UK Government will create a
marine reserve, almost as big as the United Kingdom itself, in the Atlantic waters of Ascension
Island. This is the result of significant effort from NGOs, the Blue Marine Foundation and the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and the ambitious marine conservation strategy of both
the Ascension Island Government and the UK Government. The marine reserve has been made
possible with the support of a grant from the Bacon Foundation, which will cover the costs of
enforcement over the coming fishing season, and which will contribute to surveillance, science and
management for the next 18 months.
The Great British Oceans coalition, whose members include Blue Marine Foundation, RSPB,
Greenpeace, the Marine Conservation Society, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and The Zoological Society
of London has been campaigning since 2014 for the designation of all or part of Ascension's waters
as a marine reserve. The UK, with its remote Overseas Territories, is responsible for the fifth largest
area of ocean in the world, and thus has huge potential to safeguard marine life around remote
oceanic islands. This is a significant step that contributes to the Conservative party promise in its
2015 manifesto to create a "blue belt" of protected ocean round the UK's Overseas Territories.
The Ascension Island marine reserve will total 234,291 sq km. Just over half of Ascension’s exclusive
economic zone will be closed to fishing, and the fishery in the remaining part of the island’s waters
will be monitored and enforced through a combination of satellite technology and patrol boats. The
goal is to police the tuna fishery in line with best practice international standards and to conduct
scientific research to inform the final boundaries of the marine reserve. Legal declaration of the
reserve, subject to local agreement, is planned for as soon as 2017. The UK Government will then
ensure that these waters remain protected in the future.
The closed area will comprise all waters within 50 nautical miles of the island and everything south
of 8 degrees south. The area has been selected to create a buffer around the important inshore
areas and includes seamounts which attract aggregations of vulnerable species, such as sharks.
Ascension Island’s location between Brazil and West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean
Location of the closed area within the Ascension EEZ and the area where fishing licences permit
regulated fishing activities (Ascension Island itself is the centre of the circle)
The first major deep-water survey around Ascension Island in the Atlantic, conducted in October,
and instigated by Great British Oceans member organisation BLUE, supports the creation of a marine
reserve in the island’s waters. The deep water survey to 1000 metres was conducted last October by
six national research institutes, building upon a Darwin Initiative supported study which investigated
the biodiversity of Ascension’s shallower waters. Scientists recommend that any marine protected
area should cover the east side of the island encompassing depths from 100-1000m because of the
shelf biodiversity. Charles Clover, Blue Marine Foundation Executive Chairman, said: "Ascension has
been at the frontiers of science since Charles Darwin went there in the 19th Century, so it is entirely
appropriate that it is now at the centre of a great scientific effort to design the Atlantic's largest
marine reserve."
The latest reserve at Ascension Island is said to hold some of the largest marlin in the world, globally
important nesting areas for green turtles, big colonies of tropical seabirds and the island's own
unique frigate bird and will increase the total of global marine protected areas to about 2% of the
ocean. Although the area protected is significantly more than it was a few years ago, it still falls short
of the 30% recommended by scientists to preserve species and restore fish stocks.
The creation of an Ascension marine reserve builds upon other notable recent announcements by
governments. During 2015, marine protected areas have been designated by governments for
waters around Palau in the North Pacific, Easter Island and New Zealand's Kermadec islands. The
world’s largest fully protected marine reserve was also declared by the UK government in the waters
surrounding the Pitcairn Islands, which we also hope will be implemented in 2016.