Environmental campaigners are urging the UK government to make a 200-mile 'no take' marine reserve around the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean - but a company owned by the government's chief scientific advisor is opposing the plans.
Middle Brother Island, Chagos. Photos: Anne and Charles Sheppard
Chagos is home to 220 species of corals
Diamante Lagoon, Chagos
The Marine Resources Assessment Group (of which chief scientific advisor John Beddington owns 50.1 per cent share - the rest belongs to his wife) has a contract with the government to manage fishing in the area. It says there is no evidence a reserve would improve the environment.
MRAG development director Chris Mees said: 'Shark finning is banned completely, unlike elsewhere in the Indian Ocean. If you close the fishery, those boats will be displaced to areas where there is less control.'
The Chagos Islands - or the British Indian Ocean Territory - include the world's largest coral atoll and have one of the healthiest reef systems on earth. They are home to 220 coral species and 60 species listed as 'endangered' on the ICUN Red List.
Foreign secretary David Miliband announced in November that there would be a consultation about a fishing ban around the Chagos. A decision is expected this spring. The foreign office currently earns between £700,000 and £1million a year from selling fishing rights in the area.
An online petition to create a marine reserve around the Chagos Islands has been set up by the Chagos Environment Network, a coalition of environmental charities including the Marine Conservation Society, at http://protectchagos.org
I do not understand their argument. How can banning these fishing rights possibly be bad for the reef systems in question? Are they implying something quite underhand here - that these fishing companies will resort to the same activity ILLEGALLY? If so, then it's a pretty sleazy kind of case they're making! Let us do it, or else!
