Senior officials from the countries of 15 international governments made a joint commitment last month at a meeting held in Brest, France, to set up a marine protection area (MPA) for the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that is a highly vulnerable, yet abundant and unexplored area of the sea.

The move is seen as an important step in efforts to protect marine species.

The first kind of marine preserve was established in New South Wales in Australia in 1886, but protection efforts have developed slowly ever since.

The issue came under international attention in the 1950s. The United States passed a resolution to set up a marine protected area in 1962, in comparison with the majority of countries that began the preparatory work to establish MPAs in 1980s.

China, though, has 20 state-level marine protection zones thus far, but still needs to make further efforts, given its long coast and large sea coverage area.

In addition to setting up marine protection areas worldwide, it is of great significance to let the public join in the effort to protect marine life.

It is an increasingly urgent task to raise people's awareness to protect the sea resources while they are exploring it.

International cooperation

The commitment of the 15 countries was that a 300,000 sq km area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ocean surface above it is defined as an MPA.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, with an average altitude of 2,000 meters, is called "the Alps under the sea." Actually, the Ridge, passing through the Atlantic from the North Pole to the southern hemisphere, is larger than the Alps, a mountain range of south-central Europe. Both Iceland and the Azores are parts of the undersea mountain extruding above the ocean.

Trenches on the Ridge 4,500 meters deep down provide the only route for marine species to travel from one side of the marine mountain ridge to the other side.

Stephan Lutter, International Marine Policy Officer with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Germany, viewed the proposal as a historical resolution and of great significance for global environmental protection. The officer said this is the first marine protection area of High Seas in the Atlantic Ocean, and the world's second High Seas MPA.

The protected area is home to corals and sponges and other marine species that attach to rocky surfaces, as well as whales, sharks and other kind of fish. In addition, the cool water collides with warmer water, providing an ideal haven for production of plankton.

Lutter noted that the area is playing a key role in the whole oceanic circumfluence. However, the area is taking an impact by the booming fishing industry in recent years. The ‘orange roughy' fish is the most vulnerable species due to over fishing, as it needs 20 years to become mature and is able to live to 100 years old.

Currently, people have been banned from catching fish at the deep sea in the north of the protected area since the declaration was made last month. Meanwhile, a ban on seasonal fishing is to be launched at other underwater mountain areas.

Love-animal awareness in Tanzania

The coastal line snaked along Tanzania includes five species of marine turtles living in the West Indian Ocean. These turtles, however, are either facing threats, or becoming endangered, in accordance with the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

In 2001, biologist Catherine Muir established the Sea Sense, a local Tanzanian NGO, with an aim to protect the marine turtles.

Muir and her team members also set up "In-Situ," a wildlife protection organization, to cooperate with local communities to protect marine species