Blue Marine Foundation (stylised as Blue Marine) is a

marine conservation Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is i ...

organisation. It was founded as a legacy project following the 2009 documentary film ''The End of the Line''. It has been involved in establishing

marine reserves A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

Lyme Bay Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel off the south coast of England. The south western counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay. The exact definitions of the bay vary. The eastern boundary is usually taken to be Portland Bill on ...

Turneffe Atoll Turneffe Atoll is located southeast of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, off the coast of Belize in Central America, from Belize City. It is one of three atolls of the Belize Barrier Reef, along with Glover's Reef and Lighthouse Reef. It is ...

and 4 million square kilometres of protection in the UK Overseas Territories.

History

Chris Gorell Barnes Christopher Michael Jack Gorell Barnes (born May 1974) is an English digital entrepreneur and marine conservationist best known as executive producer of the documentary ''The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Ea ...

, the executive producer of the documentary film '' The End of the Line'', co-founded the Blue Marine Foundation with Charles Clover (the author of the book ''The End of the Line'') and filmmaker

George Duffield __NOTOC__ George Duffield MBE (born 30 November 1946) is an English retired flat racing jockey. He served a seven-year apprenticeship with Jack Waugh, and rode his first winner on 15 June 1967 at Great Yarmouth Racecourse on a horse called Sy ...

, as a legacy project of the film. It was formed with the aim of fixing environmental issues impacting the oceans. Blue Marine Foundation secured funding to enforce the protection of the no-take

marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

created by the UK government around the

Chagos Archipelago The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...

in the Indian Ocean. At the time of its creation in 2010, it was the world's largest marine reserve. The

Bertarelli Foundation The Bertarelli Foundation is a private foundation founded by the Bertarelli family; brother and sister Ernesto and Dona Bertarelli, who are co-Chairs of the Foundation, and their mother, Maria Iris Bertarelli. It was established in 1998 in memor ...

funded the first five years, after which the government promised to internalise the costs and enforce the reserve.

Henry Bellingham Henry Campbell Bellingham, Baron Bellingham (born 29 March 1955) is a British Conservative politician who sits in the House of Lords and former barrister. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Norfolk in 1983. ...

, a UK junior

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

minister, described the initiative as a "great example" of government and the private sector working together and said the reserve would "double the global coverage of the world's oceans benefiting from full protection". In July 2012, the charity helped start an alliance between fishermen and conservationists in the UK. This alliance was designed to protect

, a reef habitat on the southern coast of the UK. Scallopers and dredgers were banned from part of the bay, but overfishing continued. The deal brokered by Blue Marine and the Lyme Bay Working Group is designed to ensure fishing communities can continue to fish while the fragile ecosystem is protected and conserved. The charity also played a central role in the creation of a marine reserve around the

, which is part of the

Belize Barrier Reef The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly offshore in the north and in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, ...

. This project was completed in partnership with local fishermen and organizations and the

Government of Belize His Majesty's Government in Belize, also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize, a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from ...

. The Bertarelli Foundation also provided funding. Blue Marine was a founder member of the Great Blue Ocean coalition, of six NGOs that in 2017 campaigned for the UK Government to establish the Blue Belt Programme widely recognised as one of the world's leading marine conservation initiatives. Ten of the 16 UK

Overseas Territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

today participate in the programme, in partnership with local communities, the UK Government and NGOs, protecting more than 4.3 million square kilometres of ocean, an area more than 20 times the size of Great Britain. The Programme is highly ecologically representative with protected areas in the Pacific, Atlantic, Southern and Indian oceans and the Caribbean. Blue Belt Programme Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are monitored using satellite technology including Global Fishing Watch and OceanMind, and enforced via coordination between the UK Marine Management Organisation, INTERPOL and other international agencies.

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

lead singer

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the Briti ...

become an Ambassador for the Blue Marine Foundation in 2016 after his affinity for the sea. In 2022, the organisation was part of a restoration project launched in

the Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whic ...

, the Solent Seascape Project. In the same year it partnered with Convex Insurance and

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

to launch a global survey to assess carbon captured and stored in the seabed of the continental shelves, the Convex Seascape Survey. In 2023 the charity declared its intention to take the

UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

to court for enabling decades of overfishing in UK waters.

References

{{Reflist , refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.slowlifesymposium.com/author/chrisgorell/, title=Chris Gorell Barnes - SLOW LIFE Symposium , website=www.slowlifesymposium.com , access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=13 December 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213010203/http://www.slowlifesymposium.com/author/chrisgorell/ , url-status=dead {{Cite news , date=12 December 2022 , title=Solent Seascape Project launched to restore marine habitats , language=en-GB , work=BBC News , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-63930408 , access-date=30 January 2023 , archive-date=30 January 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130134329/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-63930408 , url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.bertarelli-foundation.org/en/news/detail/article/protecting-the-belize-coral-reef/, title=Protecting the Belize Coral Reef , date=30 November 2012 , website=bertarelli-foundation.org, access-date=4 February 2013, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723120036/http://www.bertarelli-foundation.org/en/news/detail/article/protecting-the-belize-coral-reef/, archive-date=23 July 2013, url-status=dead {{cite web, url=http://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/, title=Blue Marine Foundation, website=Blue Marine Foundation, access-date=30 January 2023 , archive-date=23 December 2010, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223080133/http://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/9796756.Lyme_Regis__Fishermen_to_face_trawler_pots_limit/, title=Lyme Regis: Fishermen to face trawler pots limit, website=Bridport and Lyme Regis News, date=4 July 2012 , access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=22 June 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622060445/http://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/9796756.Lyme_Regis__Fishermen_to_face_trawler_pots_limit/, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9794982.Warning_over_new_fishing_restrictions_in_Lyme_Bay/, title=Warning over new fishing restrictions in Lyme Bay, website=Dorset Echo, date=3 July 2012 , access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=22 June 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622033141/http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9794982.Warning_over_new_fishing_restrictions_in_Lyme_Bay/, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.fauna-flora.org/news/belize-declares-new-marine-reserve-around-turneffe-atoll/ , title=Belize declares new marine reserve around Turneffe Atoll - Fauna & Flora International, website=www.fauna-flora.org, access-date=30 January 2023 , archive-date=30 January 2023, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130134311/https://www.fauna-flora.org/news/belize-declares-new-marine-reserve-around-turneffe-atoll/ , url-status=dead {{cite web, url=http://www.fish2fork.com/en-GB/news-index/Britains-richest-woman-helps-create-magical-reserve.aspx, title=Britain's richest woman helps create "magical" reserve, work=fish2fork.com, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=30 December 2012, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230005538/http://www.fish2fork.com/en-GB/news-index/Britains-richest-woman-helps-create-magical-reserve.aspx, url-status=dead {{cite web, url=http://www.bertarelli-foundation.org/projects-partners/chagos-marine-reserve/, website=Foundation Bertarelli , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112222409/http://www.bertarelli-foundation.org/projects-partners/chagos-marine-reserve/, archive-date=12 January 2011 , url-status=dead , title=Chagos Marine Reserve {{cite web, url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/beauty-and-the-reef-billionairess-dives-in-to-save-coral-c566268vvjs, title=Beauty and the reef: billionairess dives in to save coral, first1=Robin, last1=Henry, first2=Frank, last2=Pope, date=25 November 2012, work=

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, access-date=30 January 2023 , archive-date=30 January 2023, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130134306/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/beauty-and-the-reef-billionairess-dives-in-to-save-coral-c566268vvjs, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.icriforum.org/news/2013/01/belize-declares-new-marine-reserve-around-turneffe-atoll, title=Belize declares new marine reserve around Turneffe Atoll - International Coral Reef Initiative, website=www.icriforum.org, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=13 December 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213092314/https://www.icriforum.org/news/2013/01/belize-declares-new-marine-reserve-around-turneffe-atoll, url-status=dead {{cite web, url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/billionaire-saves-marine-reserve-plans-2077437.html, title=Billionaire saves marine reserve plans, date=12 September 2010, website=independent.co.uk, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=9 November 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033759/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/billionaire-saves-marine-reserve-plans-2077437.html, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://openchannels.org/news/news/belize-declares-new-marine-reserve-around-turneffe-atoll, title=Belize declares new marine reserve around Turneffe Atoll - OpenChannels: Sustainable Ocean Management and Conservation, website=openchannels.org, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=22 June 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622060326/https://www.openchannels.org/news/news/belize-declares-new-marine-reserve-around-turneffe-atoll , url-status=dead {{cite web, url=http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/press-releases/united-kingdom-designates-worlds-largest-marine-reserve-8589935355 , title=United Kingdom Poised to Designate World's Largest Marine Reserve, website=www.pewenvironment.org, date=5 March 2010 , access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=10 September 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910022132/http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/press-releases/united-kingdom-designates-worlds-largest-marine-reserve-8589935355 , url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8599125.stm, title=UK sets up Chagos marine reserve, date=1 April 2010 , first=Paul , last=Rincon, work=BBC News, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=19 November 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119052958/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8599125.stm, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.spearswms.com/good-life/general/26182/the-importance-of-being-ernesto.thtml, archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130419013751/http://www.spearswms.com/good-life/general/26182/the-importance-of-being-ernesto.thtml, url-status=dead , title=The Importance of Being Ernesto, first=Laetitia, last=Cash, date=16 April 2013, archivedate=19 April 2013, website=spearswms.com {{cite web, url=http://www.superyachttimes.com/editorial/51/article/id/9966, title=Andrew Winch Designs creates unique 'whale' suite , website=superyachttimes.com, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=28 November 2018 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128075641/https://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/andrew-winch-designs-creates-unique-whale-suite , url-status=dead {{cite web, url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/02/fishing-limit-lyme-bay-catches, title=Fishermen agree to limit Lyme Bay catches , date=2 July 2012, website=The Guardian, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=30 January 2023, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130134306/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/02/fishing-limit-lyme-bay-catches, url-status=live {{cite web, url=http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Fishermen-agree-pioneering-partnership-Lyme-Bay/story-16477559-detail/story.html , title=Article in Western Morning News, website=thisisdevon.co.uk, access-date=30 January 2023, archive-date=27 February 2023, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227191824/https://www.devonlive.com/, url-status=dead

External links

Official website
Marine conservation organizations Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom Fisheries conservation organizations Environmental organizations established in 2010 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom