The Blue Shield Programme is a new UK Government initiative aimed at tackling the challenges of illegal fishing and unlawful marine activities around the UK Overseas Territories
The Blue Shield Programme is a new UK Government initiative aimed at tackling the challenges of illegal fishing and unlawful marine activities around the UK Overseas Territories. It will help UK Overseas Territories strengthen the management and enforcement of their oceans.
Announced at this week’s Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), the Blue Shield Programme is the latest project funded by the UK Government’s Blue Belt Programme, which protects over 4 million square kilometers of ocean around the Overseas Territories.
The Blue Shield Programme will identify and analyse activities that may impact the health and sustainability of Overseas Territories’ marine environments. Illegal fishing and overfishing can cause significant damage to marine environments threatening the sustainability of fish populations, ecosystems, and the livelihoods of those who fish legally. Effective monitoring and surveillance can help reduce those risks.
The activities surveyed could include illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, commercial and recreational vessel activity, as well as shipping activity.
Through the establishment of compliance and enforcement frameworks, Blue Shield will assist the territories to ensure their waters are protected and sustainably managed. Where necessary, Blue Shield will also assist them to undertake enforcement action against non-compliance.
Overseas Territories will also be supported through specialist training for on-island staff to build local capacity, as well as providing access to innovative surveillance and enforcement techniques. These include:
Lord Zac Goldsmith, Minister for the Environment, commented:
Bermuda today announced that it would be the first Overseas Territory to join Blue Shield. Support provided by the Programme, to combat IUU fishing, and manage vessel activity and marine development projects, will underpin Bermuda’s existing protected areas management approach.
Honourable Walter Roban, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, Bermuda, commented:
Notes to Editors