Protections for Ascension Island, the Crossroads of the Atlantic – The Pew Charitable Trusts

Overview

Ascension Island lies in an isolated expanse of the South Atlantic Ocean midway between Angola and Brazil. Part of the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of St. Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, the volcanic island measures just 88 square kilometres (34 square miles). The surrounding waters are rich with biodiversity and serve as a critical stopping place for migratory species, such as green sea turtles.

This critically important ecosystem warrants protection. Highly mobile species stop in these waters seeking food and shelter from the open seas as they travel across the ocean. The area supports healthy populations of marine mammals and fish, including 11 fish species found nowhere else. The island is home to the second-largest nesting population of green sea turtles in the Atlantic, along with 11 types of seabirds that nest on the island and feed in its rich waters.

The Ascension Island Council (AIC) and the U.K. Government both support steps to safeguard biodiversity in these waters through establishment of a large marine protected area (MPA). Encompassing the islands entire exclusive economic zone, the MPA would be twice the size of the United Kingdoms land mass. Industrial fishing and mineral extraction would be prohibited within its boundaries.

Recognising the declining health of the worlds ocean ecosystems, the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2016 recommended that 30 per cent of all marine habitats be protected in order to sustain and continue the growth of marine biodiversity. Later that year, the U.K. Government publicly committed to protect 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles) of its waters through what is known as its Blue Belt policy. This ambitious framework included a goal of protecting at least 50 per cent of the area around Ascension Island.

In March 2019, the U.K. Government agreed to support the Ascension Island Councils proposal to designate a 443,000-square-kilometre (171,000-square-mile) MPA that would cover the islands entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Commercial fishing and mineral extraction would be banned throughout the MPA, but recreational and sport fishing still would be allowed up to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) from shore. If designated, the Ascension Island MPA would cover more than twice the area that the U.K. Government committed to protect in 2016. Such an action would represent significant progress in the national governments effort to implement comprehensive protections for the marine environment of its Overseas Territories.

Because of its isolation, Ascension has largely avoided intensive commercial fishing. As a result, these waters are among the most intact in the Atlantic, providing a home to some of the worlds largest tuna, marlin, and sailfish.

Green sea turtles return from their feeding grounds in Brazil and the Caribbean once they reach maturitywhich can take decadesto nest on the beaches of their birth. The turtles were regularly harvested on Ascension until the practice was banned in the 1930s. Theirnumbers began to recover in the 1970s, andalthough still listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red Listthe species is rebounding. Critically endangered hawksbill turtles also have been observed in local waters, although they arent known to nest on the island.1

A variety of marine mammals frequent Ascensions waters, including bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, sperm whales, and Gervais beaked whales. Humpbacks return to these seas from the Southern Ocean during the late winter and early spring to mate and give birth.2

Sperm whales and other migratory species can be found in the waters surrounding Ascension Island. Getty Images

The fish that live in these waters include larger migratory species, such as various sharks, and smaller reef-dwelling species, such as the Ascension goby. There are 11 endemic species of fish, including the resplendent angelfish. Other common species include the rock hind grouper, yellowfin tuna, spotted moray eel, and Atlantic blue marlin.3 In addition, shoreline shark sightings have increased in recent years.

Experts believe Ascension provided a home for millions of seabirds before humans arrived in 1815. In the following years, those populations were almost entirely wiped out by predators introduced by early settlers. After feral cats were eradicated in 2009, bird populations began to rise. The island is now home to more than 500,000 seabirds of 11 species and is considered a haven for the brown noddy,sooty tern, 4 Boatswain Bird Island, a few hundred metres from Ascensions northeast coast, is an important nesting site and home to 10 per cent of the Atlantic population of masked booby and 17 per cent of the Atlantics red-billed tropic birds. Other species that dwell on Ascensions cliffs include the black noddy, white tern, yellow-billed tropic bird, brown booby, red-footed booby, and the Madeiran storm petrel.5 Fishing pressure remains limited in the region around Ascension, but the islands rich biodiversity remains at risk without protections in place.

Ten percent of the masked booby population lives on Ascension Island. Getty Images

Highly protected MPAs mitigate the effects of climate change by building resilience into the ecosystem, helping to buffer against future uncertainty in management and environmental fluctuations.6 Over time, the ability of Ascensions marine environment to cope with the impact of climate change could increase under strong protection, helping to safeguard the species that live there, area biodiversity, and the people who depend on a healthy marine environment.

Since 2015, Great British Oceans (GBO), a coalition of environmental non-governmental organisations that include the Blue Marine Foundation, Greenpeace-U.K., Marine Conservation Society, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Zoological Society of London, and The Pew Trusts, has advocated for an ambitious implementation of the U.K. Governments Blue Belt policy. With support from the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project, GBO has called for the protection of Ascensions waters and has partnered with the Ascension Island Council over several years to study the best path forward.

A school of horse-eye jacks in the waters around Ascension Island. A wide range of fish, including larger species such as sharks, live in these waters. Paul Colley

Effective monitoring and enforcement is critical to an MPAs success. Remote monitoring can help solve the challenges posed by large-scale MPAs or those established in distant and isolated waters. That task can be handled in large part by capabilities such as Oversea Ocean Monitor, which was developed by Pew and Satellite Applications Catapult. Initially called Project Eyes on the Seas, the technology combines satellite data, fishing authorizations, and artificial intelligence to detect illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing for further assessment and investigation.

This platform has already been used extensively to monitor vessel activity in Ascensions waters and has helped enforce the Blue Belt policy. The analyses by Oversea Ocean Monitor have assisted in setting baselines to inform future management decisions. The technology helps ensure IUU fishing does not undermine marine conservation measures that ban commercial fishing.7

The Ascension Island MPA would help safeguard a critical and irreplaceable ocean ecosystem, and strengthen the U.K. and its Overseas Territories position as global leaders in marine conservation. Establishment of this protected area would also mean that the U.K. has protected over 30 per cent of its waters with fully protected MPAs.

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Protections for Ascension Island, the Crossroads of the Atlantic - The Pew Charitable Trusts