New Atlantic Marine Sanctuary – Burning Issues

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The news

The waters around one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands, in the middle of the south atlantic ocean, are set to become the fourth largest completely protected marine area in the world, and the largest in the atlantic.

Tristan da Cunha, which is inhabited by less than 300 humans is a small chain of islands over 6,000 miles from London in the South Atlantic and the water around the islands are considered to be the richest in the world.

Tristan Da Cunha has been declared the largest fully protected marine reserves in the Atlantic Ocean at 687,000 square kilometres.
Archipelago Tristan da Cunha is home to tens of millions of seabirds and several unique land birds.
The new protected area will join the K.’s Blue Belt Programme, which, as of today, safeguards 2.7 million square miles of marine ecosystems around the world.
This means fishing, mining and any such activities will not be allowed.

As of today, only 8 percent of the world’s oceans are designated as MPAs.
- However, 2.6 percent are totally off limits to fishing.
National Geographic Society’s Campaign for Nature Initiative has called for 30 percent of the oceans to be protected.
- Experts say, We have 10 years to protect 30 percent of the ocean if we want to stop the extinction of many marine species.

The island was first discovered by Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha in 1506, the island wasn’t inhabited until 1816, when a British garrison was stationed there to prevent the French from rescuing exiled emperor Napoleon from St. Helena Island, 1,343 miles north.
Human population is very scarce, wildlife is abundant on Tristan da Cunha, with seabird populations numbering in the tens of millions.