When was the first Marine Park/Reserve established

[Mike Mascia]

Jacob,

You may wish to consider these other contenders for the "first" MPA:

Middle Morant Caye Nature Reserve, Jamaica, established 1907, containing 
200 km2 of coral reef, seagrass, and sandy bottom habitat (Source: 
unpublished data from my 1997 survey of MPA managers in the Wider Caribbean).

The "Sea Garden" between Hog Island and Athol Island (Nassau, Bahamas), 
protected in 1892 by "An Act for the protection of the 'Sea Gardens'", 
containing an unspecified area of coral reef, within which it was illegal 
for anyone "to dredge for, remove, or take by away by any means whatsoever, 
from the bottom of the sea ... any coral, sea fan, or other marine product 
thereupon growing, lying, or being".  The penalty for noncompliance was a 
fine of up to 5 pounds or up to 30 days imprisonment.  (Source: Government 
of the Bahamas, Sea Gardens Protection Act, 1892.)

I would also suggest that many of the customary marine tenure systems in 
the South Pacific and Oceania, which date back centuries, were (are) very 
similar in function to modern, government-established and managed MPAs.

Hope this helps.

Mike








At 06:24 AM 8/30/2001, you wrote:
>Hi All listers
>
>For a forthcoming publication, I need the following piece of information:
>
>Which was the first Underwater marine park and/or coral nature reseve in 
>the world, and when was it formally established?
>
>Thanks for your cooperation
>
>Jacob Dafni
>



Michael B. Mascia, Ph.D.
Environmental Policy Consultant
223 Constitution Avenue, NE	
Washington, DC 20002

Phone: (202) 547-6516
Cell: (202) 257-2455
Email: Michael.Mascia at duke.edu

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