英國創(chuàng)建了大西洋比較大的海洋保護(hù)區(qū)之一

英國創(chuàng)建了大西洋最大的海洋保護(hù)區(qū)之一

The United Kingdom has declared roughly 170,000 square miles around Ascension Island a marine protected area. It's one of the largest such areas in the Atlantic Ocean, and a victory for some of the world's biggest blue marlin, bigeye tuna and green sea turtles.

英國宣布阿森松島周圍約17萬平方英里為海洋保護(hù)區(qū)。這是大西洋中最大的海域之一，也是世界上一些最大的藍(lán)槍魚、大眼金槍魚和綠海龜?shù)膭倮?/p>

Ascension Island lies in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly halfway between the coasts of Brazil and Africa. (Photo: kwest/Shutterstock)

Earlier this month, the local Ascension government declared the scope of the marine protected area, or MPA, which forbids commercial fishing and extractive mining but allows subsistence fishing by local communities. This week, the U.K. government set aside the money needed to make that a reality.

本月早些時(shí)候，當(dāng)?shù)匕⑸蓫u政府宣布了海洋保護(hù)區(qū)(MPA)的范圍，該保護(hù)區(qū)禁止商業(yè)捕魚和采挖采礦，但允許當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)進(jìn)行自給自足的捕魚。本周，英國政府撥出了實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)所需的資金。

It's a big step toward a global goal of protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030.

這是朝著到2030年保護(hù)世界30%海洋的全球目標(biāo)邁出的一大步。

Green turtles were liberally harvested until 1930, but new rules helped the species rebound, and by 2014, nesting on Ascension has increased by 500%. (Photo: Kris Mikael Krister [CC BY 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

Ascension, one of the most remote populated places in the world, is deceivingly small, but what can be seen above water is simply the tip of a 10,000-foot underwater volcano, an area rich with biodiversity. This underwater mid-Atlantic ridge is one of the longest mountain ranges in the world, according to National Geographic. The ecosystem is home to sea turtles, marlin and is an important breeding stop for migratory birds.

阿森松島是世界上人口最稀少的地方之一，面積小得令人迷惑，但在水面上可以看到的只是一座一萬英尺深的海底火山的頂端，這是一個(gè)生物多樣性豐富的地區(qū)。據(jù)《國家地理》報(bào)道，這條大西洋中部的水下山脊是世界上最長的山脈之一。該生態(tài)系統(tǒng)是海龜、馬林魚的家園，也是候鳥的重要繁殖地。

"In Ascension, the U.K. has its own miniature Galápagos Islands," David Barnes, a marine ecologist with the British Antarctic Survey, told Mongabay. "Its few humans are overshadowed by thousands of land crabs, green turtles, seabirds and surrounding marine life." Barnes contributed to research underpinning the designation of the MPA.

“在阿森松島，英國有自己的微型加拉帕戈斯群島，”英國南極調(diào)查局的海洋生態(tài)學(xué)家大衛(wèi)·巴恩斯告訴Mongabay。“成千上萬的陸地蟹類、綠海龜、海鳥和周圍的海洋生物給這里為數(shù)不多的人類蒙上了陰影。”巴恩斯為MPA的命名提供了研究支持。

One part of a bigger puzzle

這是一個(gè)更大謎團(tuán)的一部分

In 2015, a grand plan was hatched to create one of the largest marine reserves in the world focusing on the waters surrounding U.K. overseas territories including Ascension and a string of islands in the Atlantic, the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific, the British Antarctic Territory and the Overseas Territories of British Indian Ocean Territory. Aptly called the Blue Belt Programme, the goal is to protect 4 million square kilometers of marine environment around the globe.

2015年,一個(gè)宏偉計(jì)劃是創(chuàng)建世界上最大的海洋保護(hù)區(qū)之一英國海外領(lǐng)土的關(guān)注周圍的水域,包括提升和一串島嶼在大西洋,皮特凱恩島在太平洋,英國南極領(lǐng)土和英屬印度洋領(lǐng)地的海外領(lǐng)土。“藍(lán)帶計(jì)劃”的目標(biāo)是保護(hù)全球400萬平方公里的海洋環(huán)境。

As part of the Blue Belt plan, the Pitcairn Islands were also given marine protections. (Photo: Claude Huot/Shutterstock)

One of the reasons such huge (and remote) reserves are becoming increasingly feasible is the fact that satellite technology and remote monitoring drastically cuts the cost of enforcement.

如此巨大(和偏遠(yuǎn))的保護(hù)區(qū)變得越來越可行的原因之一是，衛(wèi)星技術(shù)和遠(yuǎn)程監(jiān)控大大降低了執(zhí)行成本。

"Enforcing and monitoring these marine areas would be cost effective. The Foreign Office is at a crossroads in dealing with overseas territories. It needs to recognise that we must deal with overfishing. We now have the technological ability to do this without boats and it is much cheaper. As it is, these areas are being plundered and are not being monitored at all, even though they contain 94% of all the UK’s biodiversity," Charles Clover, chair of the Blue Foundation, told The Guardian when the idea was gaining steam.

他說:“加強(qiáng)和監(jiān)察這些海域的運(yùn)作，會有成本效益。外交部在處理海外領(lǐng)土問題上正處于十字路口。它需要認(rèn)識到，我們必須應(yīng)對過度捕撈。我們現(xiàn)在有技術(shù)能力在沒有船的情況下做到這一點(diǎn)，而且價(jià)格便宜得多。事實(shí)上，這些地區(qū)正在被掠奪，根本沒有受到監(jiān)控，盡管它們擁有英國94%的生物多樣性。”

The work is ongoing, but we think Sylvia Earle — one of the first voices calling for such protective action — would be mighty pleased.

這項(xiàng)工作正在進(jìn)行中，但我們認(rèn)為西爾維婭·厄爾——呼吁采取這種保護(hù)行動(dòng)的第一個(gè)聲音之一——會非常高興。