The Tristan da Cunha Marine Protection Zone (~690,000 sq km) is a physical reality
On August 14th – Tristan’s 205th anniversary, the Tristan da Cunha government announced the official gazettement of the Tristan da Cunha Marine Protection Zone (~690,000 sq km). With the legislation and effective implementation in place, marine protections in this highly protected MPA is a physical reality.
This would not be possible without the foresight of the Tristan community who view the MPA as a win-win for their livelihoods, food security and sustainability. This would not have been possible without collaboration across partners such as RSPB, Blue Marine Foundation, Wyss Foundation, Blue Nature Alliance, National Geographic Pristine Seas, UK Blue Belt Programme, Kaltroco and Don Quixote II Foundation.
We continue to hope that the UK government will take the necessary steps to protect and restore its home waters where destructive bottom trawlers and supertrawlers are legally allowed to fish in protected areas. A recent study found that bottom trawling emits as much carbon as aviation. Another study by the University of California and the National Geographic Society found that strategically expanding MPAs in 5 per cent of the ocean would boost global fish catches by at least 20 per cent in future. That is 9 to 12 million metric tonnes of more fish catch annually, a win-win for fisheries, food security and biodiversity.
