The British government is to create a marine reserve only slightly smaller than the UK in the waters of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, it has been announced.
A grant of STG300,000 ($A606,367) from the charitable Bacon Foundation will be used to close an area of just over half the island's waters to fishing, to police a tuna fishery in line with the best international standards in the other half, and to work out the final boundaries of a marine reserve which could be declared, subject to local agreement, as soon as 2017. It will measure 234,291 square kilometres.
The grant, which will be administered by the charity Blue Marine Foundation for the government of the island - part of a British Overseas Territory - will enable the protection of waters described as a "hope spot" with high marine biodiversity by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The waters have a host of extraordinary species including some of the largest marlin in the world, one of the largest populations of green turtles, large colonies of tropical seabirds and the island's own unique frigate bird.
James Duddridge, the Minister for the UK Overseas Territories, said: "The UK Government is particularly grateful to the Bacon Foundation for providing 300,000 to cover costs of enforcement over the coming fishing season and to contribute to surveillance, science and management for the next 18 months.
"This will aid the Ascension Island Government in identifying and securing the future size and shape of a fully protected marine reserve in at least 50 per cent of Ascension's maritime zone. This reserve could be ready for formal designation as soon as 2017, once further scientific data has been collected and analysed."
Dr Judith Brown, director of fisheries and marine conservation, Ascension Island Government, said: "We will continually monitor the fishery, examining any new scientific evidence for particular areas or species which need further protection to ensure strong environmental governance of our waters."
Conservation philanthropist Louis Bacon said: "Ascension Island has rich marine biodiversity, with globally important nesting areas for green turtles, internationally significant seabird colonies and several inshore marine species found nowhere else on earth."
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