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| Titan triggerfish, Nat Geo |
One of the most isolated islands in the world is Pitcairn Island in the eastern Pacific. Exactly what Mr. Christian wanted, so he and his fellow mutineers could escape the wrath of the British Navy. The United Kingdom will establish the world's largest continuous marine reserve around Pitcarn, Oeno, Henderson and Ducie islands according to the new budget just released. The protected zone is expected to ban commerical fishing and will cover 322,000 square miles. The waters around remote Pitcairn and neighboring islands are still pristine. Underwater visibility is up to 75 meters and coral lives at depths of up to 100 meters. Compared to the havoc visited by man on most of the ocean and its depths, Pitcairn Island Marine Reserve is an oasis of healthy normality. Just fifty-three people live on Pitcairn, many direct decedents of the sailors who took
HMS Bounty in 1790. The islanders backed the plan to declare a protected zone.
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| Lemonpeel angelfish, Guardian |
National Geographic Society
explored the ocean around the islands in 2012 and found a treasure trove of fish and invertebrate species including some 80 species of fish, coral and algae never seen before. Sharks, fished out elsewhere, are in abundance. Intact coral reefs inhabit the shallows and the depths down to 1600 meters are home to rare species like the false cat shark. Declaring marine reserves to preserve remaining marine life is politically a good idea, but not without difficulties. The United Kingdom has run into difficulties with its reserve declaration for the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The unilateral Chagos declaration was fraught with political overtones when UK severed the islands from Mauritius in 1965. Diego Garcia island was given over to the United States as a military base. Inhabitants were deported between 1967 and 1973 to make way for the installation. Chagossians, most of whom now live in poverty on Mauritius, are challenging the designation in the UN that they say will prevent them from returning to their homes. About 4,000 islanders have been waging a legal battle for nearly twenty years to return from exile. These refugees think the Chagos Marine Reserve is a grossly transparent ruse despite the presence of increasingly rare intact marine habitats. Under an exemption not allowed the original islanders, people from Diego Garcia are allowed to fish in the zone. They caught more than 28 tons of fish for consumption by base personnel in 2010. The UN court for the law of the sea is expected to rule on their claims to the 545,000 sq. mile reserve within the month.