The President of the Seychelles, Danny Faure, has described the oceans as “the beating blue heart of our planet.” He made the comment during a live broadcast from a submersible at 124 meters (406ft) of depth beneath the Indian Ocean.
On February 21, 2018, the Seychelles announced the designation of two new Marine Protected Areas, covering an area of roughly 81,000 square miles. The first MPA covers 29,000 square miles around the Aldabra island group which is home to the dugong (the most endangered animal in the Western Indian Ocean) as well as about 100,000 giant tortoises. The second MPA covers the deep waters between the Amirantes Group and Fortune Bank, an area important to tourism and local fishing.
The Nature Conservancy, in conjunction with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, have created the second largest marine protected area in the West Indian Ocean. The move increases the protections in the waters surrounding the Seychelles from one percent to more than thirty percent. Image from Shutterstock.