Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is considered the most remote inhabited archipelago on Earth. It is a group of volcanic islands located in the South Atlantic Ocean, over 2000 km off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa, 2,161 km from Saint Helena, and 3,486 km from the coast of the Falkland Islands.

Marine protection Zone of Tristan da Cunha Island

• Tristan da Cunha is a British overseas territory having its own constitution. It has around 250 permanent inhabitants on its main island.
• A ‘Marine protection zone’ has been created in the Tristan da Cunha island with an aim to safeguard endangered species including Yellow-nosed albatross, rockhopper penguins, and other wildlife including whales, dolphins, and sub-Antarctic fur seals.
• The Marine protection area will be spread over an area of 700 000 square kilometers approximately.
• Fishing and related activities will be banned from 627,247 km sq. of the ocean around Tristan da Cunha and three other major islands of the region.
• It is expected to become the Atlantic Ocean’s biggest ‘No-take zone’ and the fourth largest completely protected marine area in the world.
• The protection zone will be a part of the Blue Belt Program of the United Kingdom. The Blue Belt Program provides $35.5 million (27 million pounds) for promoting marine conservation in the overseas territories of the country.
• As of now, the initiative has conserved 11.1 million km sq. of the marine environment or 1% of the oceans of the world.

This marine protection zone will help in achieving the target of the UK government to protect 30% of the oceans in the world by the year 2030. At present, approximately 8% of the oceans around the world have been designated as Marine Protection Area, but only 2.6% of them totally limit fishing.