THE WORLD'S largest ocean monitoring programme is to be launched across UK Overseas Territories.
The £2m system of underwater cameras will help to protect marine life and is being rolled out in five oceans by the UK Government.
Wildlife in 10 of the UK's overseas territories will be monitored using the camera network, known as baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS).
They are to be deployed across the UK’s Blue Belt programme of marine protected areas around the globe, in the Caribbean, South Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans in conjunction with Australian firm Blue Abacus.
Boris Johnson said the new scheme is part of the UK's "crusade against climate change".
The Prime Minister explained: "The marine wildlife living along the coastlines of our Overseas Territories is some of the most spectacular in the world and we must do more to protect it.
“Cutting-edge technology, such as these cameras, will be vital in our crusade against climate change. Our marine experts are world leaders in protecting our ocean and the myriad of species that live within it."
The project is said to be the first of its kind, and the world's largest ocean monitoring system.
It will help to keep track of species numbers and other crucial information about wildlife such as the threatened blue fin tuna, white marlin, silky sharks, black triggerfish, loggerhead turtles, Gould’s squid and sea snakes.
It is hoped that the data provided will allow scientists to further understand the threats to marine ecosystems and how to reverse the decline in marine life.
Environment minister Lord Goldsmith said: “Understanding and protecting marine life is essential to maintaining our world’s biological diversity.
“The lack of information on the variety and abundance of different species in large parts of the ocean makes it difficult for countries to protect them effectively.
“These UK-funded underwater video cameras will provide a wealth of information on the biodiversity in the seas around the Overseas Territories, including on globally threatened species of shark and migratory fish, like the bluefin tuna.”
Co-founder of Blue Abacus and professor at the University of Western Australia, Jessica Meeuwig, said: “The world’s tunas, sharks and large reef fish continue to decline in numbers and this trend must be reversed.
“This programme will give decision makers the evidence they need to act decisively in support of their blue economies.”
The Blue Belt programme has brought in marine protection measures across four million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles) of oceans around the UK Overseas Territories, and funding to help manage the seas.
This latest project will monitor wildlife in 10 Overseas Territories: Pitcairn, Ascension, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat and within the British Antarctic Territory.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel