Download one-of-a-kind pitcairn - The Pew Charitable Trusts

A triggerfish swim
among Pitcairn’s reefs.
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
A SPECIAL PLACE
St Paul’s pool,
a beautiful natural tidal pool
© Andrew Christian
The Marine Environment
of the Pitcairn Islands
ONE-OF-A-KIND
PITCAIRN
“The Pitcairn Islands are one of the most isolated destinations in the world surrounded,
and hence protected, by an often wild and tempestuous Pacific Ocean.
But the difficulties in visiting them are more than rewarded by the amazing
underwater seascapes, and the hospitality and friendship given to us by the islanders.”
Professor Terry Dawson,
SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change, University of Dundee
Sharks patrol
a reef off Ducie
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
The marine waters around the Pitcairn Islands
are in a nearly unspoiled state.
Pitcairn’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is
20,000 times the size of its landmass.
1,249 marine species, including seabirds, have been
Two of the world’s seven species of sea turtles are
recorded in Pitcairn’s EEZ, even though the area is still
found in Pitcairn Islands’ waters: the critically endangered
largely unexplored.
hawksbill turtle and the endangered green sea turtle,
which nests on Henderson.
Henderson Island—a UNESCO World Heritage site—has
been described as “a South Pacific conservation jewel” for
22 species of whales and dolphins have been recorded in
supporting important seabird populations and a unique
Pitcairn’s EEZ, including four endangered species (blue
mosaic of limestone forest communities.
whale, sei whale, fin whale, and a subpopulation
of the humpback whale).
48 marine species known to be from Pitcairn Islands’
waters are critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable,
365 species of fish have been recorded in Pitcairn’s EEZ.
or near threatened.
Ducie, the most southerly coral atoll in the world,
14 scientific expeditions have ventured to Pitcairn Islands’
is in a remarkably undisturbed and healthy condition.
waters, starting in 1825 with a British party
to the present with the National Geographic
The seawater around all four islands is some of the
in 2012.| Pitcairn
clearestIslands
in the world.
Global expedition
Ocean Legacy
20°
200-nautical-mile limit /
EEZ boundary
Double-saddle
butterflyfish
© R.A. Irving
Studio 10, Tiger House
Burton Street
London, WC1H 9BY, UK
TEL 020 7388 5370
An endangered
green sea turtle
© Andrew Christian
Oeno Island
*
The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to
solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous,
analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and
stimulate civic life..
www.pewtrusts.org
Henderson
Island
Pitcairn Island
*
*
Ducie Island
Crough
Seamounts
*
*
Bounty Seamount
40 Mile Reef
(Adams Seamount)
Pitcairn Island,
from the east
© R.A. Irving
Pitcairn Exclusive
Economic Zone
/
0 km
100
0 nautical miles
*
100
Submarine volcano (seamount)
130°
120°
Giant clam
Tridacna maxima
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
Patch reefs at
Ducie’s lagoon
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
Gastropod Fusinus
galatheae bountyi
© R.C. Preece
Newly discovered
‘freshwater’ shrimp
© R.A. Irving
The Henderson
petrel
© Michael Brooke
Grouper in a reef off
Oeno Island
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
REMOTE, UNSPOILED, TEEMING WITH LIFE
“
The Pitcairn
Islands must
be one of
the few
places on
Earth whose
coastal waters
have avoided
the ravages
of modern
fishing
methods
and the
degradation
often
associated
with coastal
industries.
”
Robert Irving,
principal
consultant,
Sea-Scope Marine
Environmental
Consultants
I
n March 2011, The Pew Charitable Trusts’
Global Ocean Legacy staff visited Pitcairn
to discuss the possibility of establishing
a large, no-take marine reserve in the
vast waters of the Pitcairn Islands. After
extensive talks with islanders, the Island Council
agreed to support further exploration of this
concept. So as a starting point, Pew commissioned
a report on the Pitcairn Islands’ marine
environment.
The result of this work for the first time compiles
all of the known scientific information about
the Pitcairn Islands’ marine environment, from
shoreline out to the edge of its 200-nauticalmile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This largely
unexplored and undisturbed area of the ocean
spans more than 800,000 square kilometres
(300,000 square miles). The report characterises
and quantifies the key biological, geological, and
natural history features in these waters that are of
regional or global importance.
In March 2012, The Pew Charitable Trusts
partnered with the National Geographic Society
on a scientific expedition to the Pitcairn Islands.
The results of this expedition will contribute
significantly to the scientific knowledge of the
marine environment around Pitcairn’s four islands:
Pitcairn, Ducie, Henderson, and Oeno. Already, it
has confirmed what Pew’s report suggested: that
the Pitcairn Islands are one of the most special and
biologically fascinating areas of the ocean on our
planet.
Pitcairn residents host
The Pew Charitable Trusts and
National Geographic Society
at historic Bounty Bay,
Pitcairn Island, April 2012.
© The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2012
The area is rich with complex
marine communities of hard
and soft corals that are home to
hundreds of species of biologically
important fish, including the
squirrelfish and the many-spined
butterfly fish, two species found
nowhere else on Earth. This
unspoiled and remote environment
also attracts important migrating
animals, such as the graceful green
sea turtle and the elusive sei whale.
In addition, 12 marine species
that are found here have been listed
as endangered on the IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species. These
include the hawksbill turtle (critically
endangered) and the Oceania
subpopulation of humpback whales
(endangered), which swim close
enough to the islands for Pitcairners
to view from shore. Also, the area
is home to many important bird
species, such as the Henderson
petrel (endangered), whose only
known breeding spot in the world is
on Henderson Island.
The report also confirms that,
similar to much of the world’s
oceans, little scientific information
has been recorded about the
Pitcairn Islands’ offshore or deep-
PITCAIRN ISLANDS’
SEAMOUNTS
The waters around the Pitcairn
Islands are strewn with a large
number of seamounts and knolls.
Sometimes called ‘undersea
mountains,’ they are active or
extinct volcanoes that did not
grow tall enough to become
islands. The Pitcairn Islands’ EEZ
contains 396 of these biologically
important features, which provide
needed habitats for marine
predators, deep-sea fish, and
invertebrates.
sea marine environment. By virtue
of the Pitcairn Islands’ remoteness
and relatively undisturbed waters,
it is likely the deep ocean here
harbours important and unique
marine features. One indication
is that the seafloor within the EEZ
is an abyssal plain interrupted by
a series of seamounts, with the
bottom reaching a depth of 3,500
meters, and the tallest seamount
rising to about 55 meters below
the surface. Moreover, there are
also at least two known active hot
spots of biological richness found
in the area.
A SPECIAL PLACE
A triggerfish swim
among Pitcairn’s reefs.
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
St Paul’s pool,
a beautiful natural tidal pool
© Andrew Christian
Sharks patrol
a reef off Ducie
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
The marine waters around the Pitcairn Islands
are in a nearly unspoiled state.
Pitcairn’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is
20,000 times the size of its landmass.
The Marine Environment
of the Pitcairn Islands
1,249 marine species, including seabirds, have been
recorded in Pitcairn’s EEZ, even though the area is still
largely unexplored.
Two of the world’s seven species of sea turtles are
found in Pitcairn Islands’ waters: the critically endangered
hawksbill turtle and the endangered green sea turtle,
which nests on Henderson.
ONE-OF-A-KIND
PITCAIRN
Henderson Island—a UNESCO World Heritage site—has
been described as “a South Pacific conservation jewel” for
supporting important seabird populations and a unique
mosaic of limestone forest communities.
22 species of whales and dolphins have been recorded in
Pitcairn’s EEZ, including four endangered species (blue
whale, sei whale, fin whale, and a subpopulation
of the humpback whale).
48 marine species known to be from Pitcairn Islands’
waters are critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable,
or near threatened.
“The Pitcairn Islands are one of the most isolated destinations in the world surrounded,
and hence protected, by an often wild and tempestuous Pacific Ocean.
But the difficulties in visiting them are more than rewarded by the amazing
underwater seascapes, and the hospitality and friendship given to us by the islanders.”
Professor Terry Dawson,
SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change, University of Dundee
365 species of fish have been recorded in Pitcairn’s EEZ.
Ducie, the most southerly coral atoll in the world,
14 scientific expeditions have ventured to Pitcairn Islands’
is in a remarkably undisturbed and healthy condition.
waters, starting in 1825 with a British party
to the present with the National Geographic
The seawater around all four islands is some of the
in 2012.| Pitcairn
clearestIslands
in the world.
Global expedition
Ocean Legacy
20°
200-nautical-mile limit /
EEZ boundary
Double-saddle
butterflyfish
© R.A. Irving
Studio 10, Tiger House
Burton Street
London, WC1H 9BY, UK
TEL 020 7388 5370
An endangered
green sea turtle
© Andrew Christian
Oeno Island
*
The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to
solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous,
analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and
stimulate civic life..
www.pewtrusts.org
Henderson
Island
Ducie Island
Pitcairn Island
*
*
Crough
Seamounts
*
*
Bounty Seamount
40 Mile Reef
(Adams Seamount)
Pitcairn Island,
from the east
© R.A. Irving
Pitcairn Exclusive
Economic Zone
/
0 km
100
0 nautical miles
*
100
130°
Submarine volcano (seamount)
120°
A SPECIAL PLACE
A triggerfish swim
among Pitcairn’s reefs.
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
St Paul’s pool,
a beautiful natural tidal pool
© Andrew Christian
Sharks patrol
a reef off Ducie
© Enric Sala/National Geographic
The marine waters around the Pitcairn Islands
are in a nearly unspoiled state.
Pitcairn’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is
20,000 times the size of its landmass.
The Marine Environment
of the Pitcairn Islands
1,249 marine species, including seabirds, have been
recorded in Pitcairn’s EEZ, even though the area is still
largely unexplored.
Two of the world’s seven species of sea turtles are
found in Pitcairn Islands’ waters: the critically endangered
hawksbill turtle and the endangered green sea turtle,
which nests on Henderson.
ONE-OF-A-KIND
PITCAIRN
Henderson Island—a UNESCO World Heritage site—has
been described as “a South Pacific conservation jewel” for
supporting important seabird populations and a unique
mosaic of limestone forest communities.
22 species of whales and dolphins have been recorded in
Pitcairn’s EEZ, including four endangered species (blue
whale, sei whale, fin whale, and a subpopulation
of the humpback whale).
48 marine species known to be from Pitcairn Islands’
waters are critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable,
or near threatened.
“The Pitcairn Islands are one of the most isolated destinations in the world surrounded,
and hence protected, by an often wild and tempestuous Pacific Ocean.
But the difficulties in visiting them are more than rewarded by the amazing
underwater seascapes, and the hospitality and friendship given to us by the islanders.”
Professor Terry Dawson,
SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change, University of Dundee
365 species of fish have been recorded in Pitcairn’s EEZ.
Ducie, the most southerly coral atoll in the world,
14 scientific expeditions have ventured to Pitcairn Islands’
is in a remarkably undisturbed and healthy condition.
waters, starting in 1825 with a British party
to the present with the National Geographic
The seawater around all four islands is some of the
in 2012.| Pitcairn
clearestIslands
in the world.
Global expedition
Ocean Legacy
20°
200-nautical-mile limit /
EEZ boundary
Double-saddle
butterflyfish
© R.A. Irving
Studio 10, Tiger House
Burton Street
London, WC1H 9BY, UK
TEL 020 7388 5370
An endangered
green sea turtle
© Andrew Christian
Oeno Island
*
The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to
solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous,
analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and
stimulate civic life..
www.pewtrusts.org
Henderson
Island
Ducie Island
Pitcairn Island
*
*
Crough
Seamounts
*
*
Bounty Seamount
40 Mile Reef
(Adams Seamount)
Pitcairn Island,
from the east
© R.A. Irving
Pitcairn Exclusive
Economic Zone
/
0 km
100
0 nautical miles
*
100
130°
Submarine volcano (seamount)
120°