This video was produced as part of a larger initiative to protect the Sargasso Sea from commercial exploitation:
Local and international conservationists, teaming with the Bermuda Government, have joined the Pew initiative in an effort to have the Sargasso Sea protected by law.
Last year the Atlantic Conservation Partnership [ACP] — formerly Friends of the Bermuda Aquarium — commissioned a short film from Look Bermuda aimed at raising awareness about Bermuda’s role in the international campaign to preserve the Sargasso Sea.
Last May the film was screened at “Project Ocean Talks” sponsored by London retailer Selfridges and attended by international conservationists, legislators and government representatives, including Bermuda’s Director of Environmental Protection Dr. Fred Ming, who spoke at the event.
The six-minute short describes the eco-rich area in the middle of the North Atlantic west of Bermuda.
A longer film on Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea is currently being completed for use in the island’s schools.
A related article from Bernews: Group Campaigns For Bermuda Marine Park:
Global Ocean Legacy, a international project being coordinated by the Pew Environment Group and its partners, hopes to establish a worldwide system of large, highly protected marine reserves where fishing and other extractive activities are protected — including one in Bermuda’s waters.
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“Our goal is to work with the Government of Bermuda, non-government organisations and scientists to establish a very large, no-take marine reserve to protect Bermuda’s ocean habitat within its Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ], which extends from the islands’ coastline out to 200 nautical miles, and is part of the Sargasso Sea,” said the Pew Environmental Group, which launched the marine national park scheme in 2010.
Protection on this scale would:
• Ensure that the Sargasso Sea and its important marine life is safeguarded;
• Provide an important contribution to the internationally agreed target to protect 10 percent of the world’s seas; and
• Demonstrate Bermuda’s role as a world leader in ocean conservation and its place as a world-class destination for tourism and scientific research.The Pew Environmental Group is placing particular emphasis on Bermuda because globally important seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangrove swamps, diverse marine life, and an extensive network of underwater caves exist here.
“The warm waters of the Gulf Stream enable Bermuda’s shallow near-shore waters to support the northernmost coral reef system in the world,” said Pew. “Approximately 4,600 of Bermuda’s more than 8,000 species are found in its blue waters.
To read the full original articles, follow the respective links above. A tip of the hat to the Repeating Islands blog for bringing the video and articles to my attention.
Previously on Green Antilles: Sargasso Sea Alliance.
