The Marine Park Mayotte expected rise in early 2010
Thursday 03 September 2009
Why a Marine Natural Park (MNP) in Mayotte? Because this French island soon 101st French department, has a lagoon and maritime territory rich in flora and fauna with a rare specificity - a double barrier reef - over 7km2 mangrove, 300 coral species, 22 species of mammals, over 750 species of fish, 13 of lines etc ...
But this richness and biodiversity are particularly undermined by waste and sewage that pollute the lagoon (treatment is still very poor despite progress in recent years), uncontrolled exploitation of resources hallieutiques ...
The lagoon is the wealth of Mayotte (tourism, fisheries, aquaculture, port of Longoni), a unique heritage and at the same time, a source of income: it is essential to preserve it, know it better, the highlight in consultation with professionals from the sea and its various users. The creation of a natural marine park should strongly contribute to achieving these objectives.
A third and final meeting of the Steering Committee (including representatives of the Agency for Marine Protected Areas and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry) has notably defined the limits of the future park: it will cover the entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is 69 468 km2, including lying to the bench of the Zealous, east of Mayotte.
Next step: the public consultation on any pre-study and particularly the 7 guidelines on management of the Park (whose "Get a good quality of water in the lagoon," "develop friendly aquaculture sectors of the Environment, "to discover the marine environment and its biodiversity through the organization of leisure activities and the professionalization of tourism stakeholders ...").
The park should be born officially at the end of 2009 or early 2010. This is the second park of its kind in France, after one of the Iroise (an area of 3550 kilometers square, located off the coast of Finistere, it was created in 2007).
More info:
- The natural marine park Iroise
- The site of the Agency for Marine Protected Areas