Bertarelli to Fund Chagos Marine Reserve

As many globe-trotting cruisers know, the Indian Ocean’s Chagos Archipelago is regarded as having some of the cleanest waters and healthiest reef systems on earth. No doubt that’s why billionaire yachtsman Ernesto Bertarelli stepped up to offer more than $5 million to support the region’s newly designated Marine Protected Area (MPA), which covers a quarter million square miles of ocean surrounding the archipelago, and includes blanket restrictions on commercial fishing.

Since formation of the MPA in April, however, concerns have been raised that the region’s protected status may not be economically viable without private funding, due to the loss of more than $1 million in annual tuna fishing licenses. Working through the Blue Marine Foundation, the Bertarelli Foundation agreed to cover the shortfall and more.

Administered by Great Britain as a British Indian Ocean Territory, the Chagos group lies 300 miles south of the Maldives, and roughly at the midpoint between Sri Lanka and Madagascar. It is comprised of seven atolls that contain more than 60 islands.