Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

International conservation group says strong support for Pitcairn Islands marine reserve

Posted at 01:22 on 30 April, 2012 UTC

The international conservation organisation, Pew Environment Group, says it has strong support from the Pitcairn Island community to establish a large, iconic, world class marine reserve.

The Group has been in discussions with leaders of the Pitcairn Islands since last year hoping to create the world’s largest marine reserve in its Exclusive Economic Zone of 880,000 square kilometres.

The manager of its Global Ocean Legacy project, Heather Bradner, says a marine reserve in the Pitcairn Islands will benefit future generations and the wider Pacific region.

“The Pitcairn Islands are incredibly unique, they are very remote and have benefitted from historically very little commercial fishing or other harmful extractive activities. So you have a very healthy ecosystem that’s acting as the ocean should act.”

Heather Bradner says further discussions on the idea will take place on Pitcairn later this year.