中国科技网10月29日报道（张微 编译）本周三，太平洋小国帕劳宣布创建一个面积广阔的海洋保护区，其面积相当于西班牙的大小，禁止在保护区水域从事渔业活动，为后代保护海洋生态。

这个新保护区——50万平方公里(19.3万平方英里)的海域，是世界上最大的海洋保护区之一，覆盖了一个水下仙境，这里包含1300种鱼类和700多种珊瑚。

帕劳总统汤米·雷蒙杰索介绍说，这个保护区包含帕劳国家海洋领土80%的面积，这个计划将使经历了几十年工业化捕鱼而导致一些物种濒临灭绝的海洋得到治愈的机会。

“一个小岛国能够对海洋产生很大的影响，” 他在周三正式签署官方文件的一个仪式之前表示。

“岛国是面临海洋威胁最严峻的地区。创建海洋保护区是一个大胆的举动，帕劳人将意识到这对我们的生存至关重要。”

这个群岛，是西太平洋密克罗尼西亚群岛中较大的岛屿群的一部分，人口只有1.8万人。

这个保护区将在接下来的五年里分阶段完成，最后只留下一片较小的帕劳海域，对本地渔民开放，而不是由外国拖网渔船来主导太平洋渔业。

这个禁止渔业活动计划优先发展旅游业而不是金枪鱼产业，旅游业每年贡献国内生产总值的50%，1.6亿美元，而金枪鱼产业每年的贡献约在550万美元左右。

帕劳在2009年创建了世界上第一个鲨鱼保护区，大约三分之一的国家已经跟进，转变鲨鱼对捕食者的态度，帮助抑制鱼翅汤的需求。

在太平洋地区海洋保护工作正在进行中，在整个区域创建海洋公园网络，以确保世界上最后的原始海洋生态系统得到可持续的管理。

2012年库克群岛宣布建立10.65亿平方公里的海洋保护区，基里巴斯和托克劳群岛也宣布建立大型的保护区。

上个月，新西兰也宣布到2016年建立海洋保护区，规模为法国大小。

Pacific's Palau creates huge ocean sanctuary the size of Spain

The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau created a vast marine sanctuary the size of Spain on Wednesday, banning fishing across the bulk of its waters to preserve the ocean for future generations.

At 500,000 square kilometres (193,000 square miles), the new sanctuary is one of the largest in the world and covers an underwater wonderland containing 1,300 species of fish and 700 types of coral.

Palau President Tommy Remengesau said the sanctuary, comprising 80 percent of the nation's maritime territory, would allow the ocean to heal after decades of industrialised fishing which has driven some species to the brink of extinction.

"A small island nation can have a big impact on the ocean," he said ahead of a ceremony Wednesday to officially sign off on the reserve.

"Island communities have been among the hardest hit by the threats facing the ocean. Creating this sanctuary is a bold move that the people of Palau recognise as essential to our survival."

The archipelago, part of the larger island group of Micronesia in the west Pacific, has a population of just 18,000.

The sanctuary will be phased in over five years, eventually leaving only a relatively small area of Palau's waters open to fishing by locals but not the foreign trawlers which dominate the Pacific industry.

The no-fishing plan prioritises tourism—which contributes about US$160 million or 50 percent of gross domestic product annually—over the tuna industry, which contributes around US$5.5 million a year.

Palau created the world's first shark sanctuary in 2009 and about one-third of countries have now followed suit, changing attitudes to the predator and helping curb demand for shark fin soup.

Conservation efforts are underway in the Pacific to create a network of marine parks across the region to ensure one of the world's last pristine ocean ecosystems is managed sustainably.

In 2012 the Cook Islands unveiled a 1,065 million square kilometre marine park while Kiribati and Tokelau have also declared huge protected zones.

New Zealand announced plans last month to create a marine sanctuary the size of France by 2016.

来源：中国科技网—科技日报