Mexico creates vast new ocean reserve to protect 'Galapagos of North America'
Source: Guardian
Fishing, mining and new hotels will be prohibited in the biologically spectacular Revillagigedo archipelago
Mattha Busby and agencies
@matthabusby
Saturday 25 November 2017 07.38 EST
Last modified on Saturday 25 November 2017 07.54 EST
Mexicos government has created the largest ocean reserve in North America around a Pacific archipelago regarded as its crown jewel.
The measures will help ensure the conservation of marine creatures including whales, giant rays and turtles.
. . .
Mexico joins Chile, New Zealand and Tahiti in taking recent steps to preserve the ecological systems in their territorial waters.
Conversely, President Trump is considering shrinking two marine national monuments in the Pacific: Rose Atoll and the Pacific Remote Islands. These would be opened to commercial fishing, along with the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, off the coast of New England, the Washington Post has reported.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/25/mexico-creates-vast-new-ocean-reserve-to-protect-galapagos-of-north-america
Judi Lynn
(160,633 posts)NOVEMBER 24, 2017 / 4:13 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
Mexico creates marine reserve around islands called 'Galapagos of North America'
Reuters Staff
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicos government has created a marine park the size of Illinois in the Pacific, the largest ocean reserve in North America for the conservation of giant rays, whales and turtles, including dozens of species endemic to the area.
Mexicos President Enrique Pena Nieto designated on Friday the Revillagigedo Archipelago, located some 390 km (242 miles) southeast of the Baja California peninsula, as a national park.
The four volcanic islands that make up the Revillagigedo Archipelago and the surrounding waters are home to hundreds of species of animals and plants, including rays, humpback whales, sea turtles, lizards and migratory birds.
The archipelago is sometimes known as the Galapagos of North America, in reference to the volcanic Ecuadorean islands whose abundance of endemic species inspired biologist Charles Darwin.
More:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-environment/mexico-creates-marine-reserve-around-islands-called-galapagos-of-north-america-idUKKBN1DO2MQ?rpc=401&
Revillagigedo Archipelago
burrowowl
(17,653 posts)Thanks for link!
mpcamb
(2,878 posts)Limited catch. Sustainable fisheries. Stop drilling!
They_Live
(3,241 posts)there need to be much more of this.