The new marine reserve is joining two recently issued spots designated to marine protection.
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Chilean President Michelle Bachelet made the announcement at the inauguration of the “Our Ocean” worldwide Conference in Valparaiso, Chile. “You shouldn’t have a commercial fishing vessel going through your marine reserve and so it makes for an easy discovery of illicit activity taking place”.
The proposed park aims to protect against illegal fishing and safeguard the biodiversity of the island’s waters, which are home to 142 endemic species, 27 of which are threatened or endangered, according to Pew.
The marine protected area scopes about 115,000 square miles of ocean around San Ambrosio and San Felix Islands collaboratively known as the Desventuradas.
The new MPA was implemented to protect an ideal ecosystem; this enables scientists to determine how marine factions are supposed to function, according to Alan Friedlander, chief scientist for National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas project.
“The ocean is the basis of our culture and our livelihood”, Pedro Edmunds Paoa, Easter Island’s mayor, said in a statement.
The decision has been negotiated with the Rapa Nui community, takes into consideration their ancestral fishing, as well as complies with current norms established by Convention No. 169 of the global Labor Organization.
Over a hundred miles off the coast of Chile lies Las Islas de los Desventurados, or the Unfortunate Islands. “Unfortunately, that led to depletion of our marine resources. With the creation of this marine park around Desventuradas, we’re also becoming a leader in marine conservation”, Munoz said, via National Geographic.
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While these new marine parks are definitely a step in the right direction, countries around the world still have a long way to go to meet the UN’s stated goal of protecting 10% of the world’s oceans by 2020.
