Sunday 3 December 2017

Mexico creates vast new ocean reserve to protect 'Galapagos of North America'


Fishing, mining and new hotels will be prohibited in the ‘biologically spectacular’ Revillagigedo archipelago
Mattha Busby and agencies

Saturday 25 November 2017 12.38 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 29 November 2017 12.17 GMT

Mexico’s government has created the largest ocean reserve in North America around a Pacific archipelago regarded as its crown jewel.

The measures will help ensure the conservation of marine creatures including whales, giant rays and turtles.

The protection zone spans 57,000 sq miles (150,000 sq km) around the Revillagigedo islands, which lie 242 miles (390 km) south-west of the Baja California peninsula.

Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, announced the decision in a decree that also bans mining and the construction of new hotels on the islands.

He said on Saturday that the decree reaffirmed the country’s “commitment to the preservation of the heritage of Mexico and the world”.


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