Tag Archives: Marine reserve
A huge marine reserve in the Pacific will protect rich tourists rather than fish
Palau is a sovereign state with a UN vote, albeit one with just 18,000 residents. In 2015 the country designated 80% of its territorial waters – an area roughly the size of Spain – as a National Marine Sanctuary. In the “Bul”, as the sanctuary is known locally, commercial fishing is off limits. The reserve has attracted many of the world’s largest conservation and development NGOs. It has received more than US$90m in pledges, mostly from corporate donors, charitable trusts and government agencies in Australia, Japan and the US. Yet the scientific rationale behind the sanctuary is questionable. click here to read the story 08:15
Obama’s moving closer to creating the world’s largest marine reserve — in Hawaii
Obama may have chosen to locate his library in his adopted home state of Illinois, but a new move by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) suggests he may leave his biggest environmental footprint in his home state of Hawaii. Schatz sent a letter Thursday to the president asking him to consider expanding the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, which President George W. Bush created a decade ago, to more than four times its current size of 139,800 square miles. The senator, who has emerged as a key broker between Hawaiian fishing and other local interests and the federal government, has included a carve-out in his proposal so recreational and subsistence fishing operators from Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau can continue to use certain areas that are outside the monument’s current boundaries. An active fishing spot around the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather buoy 51101 would remain open, though all the areas within the expanded monument would be closed to fishing or other forms of exploitation such as deep-sea mining. Read the rest here 08:05
Pew: Flooky’s got all the answers on Marine reserves and running the Bermudan government.
Marine reserve: Why don’t we just use current legislation to fine illegal fishing operations? The 1972 Fisheries Act already states that $1 million fines can be handed out to foreign vessels fishing illegally in our EEZ and their boats seized. So what difference does it make to create a marine reserve and close off future potential commercial opportunities for Bermudians to benefit from? Mr Flook believes that current legislation doesn’t have teeth nor does it align with the global legal framework of creating marine reserves in local territories and on the high seas. more@bermudasun 17:53
Marine reserve: How can we enforce such a huge area? There is a discrepancy between what the Pew Charitable Trust says it will cost and what the Government of Bermuda says it will cost. Flooky’ll figure it out. link 18:14
