Niue Government Establishes Marine Protected Area

Protected zone to cover 40% of island’s waters
Niue’s Government is to establish a Marine Protected Area (MPA) covering 40% of the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The 127,000-square kilometer MPA includes much of the waters around Niue itself as well as nearby Beveridge Reef, an uninhabited, semi-submerged atoll that has the largest density of grey reef sharks in the world
The formation of the MPA, which was announced at the Our Ocean conference in Malta, is part of the Niue Ocean Wide (NOW) project, an initiative by the Niuean community to manage the island’s resources through a unique public-private partnership between the Niuean Government and a local non-profit organisation Tofia Niue.
Niue Premier Sir Toke Talagi says his Government recognized the importance of taking action to safeguard the future of the island’s natural marine resources. “We need to invest for our future generations, so they can enjoy the bounties that we enjoyed and know that we cared about them.
“The Government of Niue is happy to support this project and we look forward to working with others who want to help us protect our resources.”
NOW Director Brendon Pasisi says the establishment of the MPA will “lock up” a proportion of its fishing resource for conservation and help reduce global over-fishing threatening fish stocks. “Giving up a proportion of commercial fisheries opportunities is the foundation of this commitment; it will help Niue safeguard the natural asset, build ecological resilience and allow the island to pursue more sustainable economic, social and environmental opportunities including achieving greater local food security and foster more blue tourism.
“After decades of contributing regionally to ocean conservation and management, and striving nationally to achieve sustainable development and management standards within our means, it’s no small feat for a tiny, developing island-state to make such a major contribution to ocean conservation.”
The announcement drew praise from National Geographic whose Pristine Seas operation took researchers and conservationists to the island last September, where they mapped the area including Beveridge Reef as one of 17 pristine natural sites in the world and carried out a comprehensive biodiversity assessment of the area.
Statement Niue Minister Malta Our Ocean Conference Final speech by Niue’s Minister for Natural Resources attending the Oceans conference in Malta where the global announcement was made.

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For further information please contact:
Ron Murray, Wright Communications, tel, (09) 366 2452; mobile 027 807 7354; email ron@wrightcommunications.co.nz

Niue snapshot
Niue is a large upraised coral atoll 2400km and a 3.5-hour flight north-east of NZ, in the centre of a triangle formed by Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. Located east of the international dateline, the island is serviced by Air NZ with two flights in and out a week and has a host of natural attractions including some of the clearest ocean water in the world, providing spectacular snorkeling, diving and fishing, forest and scenic walks and many small coves providing safe swimming. The island has a resident Niuean population of around 1600 people and is a self-governing nation aligned closely with NZ, with its own Parliament and Premier.  To find out more about Niue please visit http://www.niueisland.com
 
 
(Source: Niue Tourism Media Release 06 October 2017)