VINA DEL MAR: Chile on Monday said it would create one of the world’s largest marine conservation parks, and Washington announced two new marine sanctuaries and a drive against illegal fishing to help protect the world’s oceans.

Addressing the second annual ‘Our Ocean’ international conference in Chile’s coastal town of Vina del Mar, President Michelle Bachelet said the protected area would encompass the remote Easter Island, part of Chile’s territory some 3,800 km west of Santiago in the middle of the Pacific.

A separate park will also protect other island chains, including the Juan Fernandez archipelago, which has been a region of contention between commercial and artisanal fishermen. The proposal should help rebuild depleted fisheries, conservationists said.

The parks host one of the highest densities of endogenous marine species on the planet. Overall, over 1 million square kilometers of ocean would be protected, Bachelet said.

“This is Chile’s contribution to the ocean, so that our children and grandchildren may enjoy what we are doing here,” Bachelet told attendees to loud applause.

In a video address to the conference, Obama said the United States would create marine sanctuaries in Maryland and in an area off Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan, and will take new action to combat illegal fishing.—Reuters

The proposed sites — a 14-square-mile section in the Mallows Bay-Potomac River waters of Maryland, and an 875-square-mile in Lake Michigan, will be the first new national marine sanctuaries declared by the federal government since 2000.

Addressing the conference, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was increasing efforts to track illegal fishing.

Published in Dawn, October 6th , 2015

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