Bermuda BREAM

Bermuda Royal Gazette March 1, 2010 Link Bermuda can take the lead in protecting the Sargasso Sea, Cox indicates in Budget By Amanda Dale Bermuda is spearheading the creation of one of the first high seas marine protected areas (MPAs). The Sargasso Sea could be designated an MPA, protecting its marine life for future generations. Finance Minister and Deputy Premier Paula Cox announced the project during the Budget on Friday, saying it was not only globally important but would also protect the waters of Bermuda. "The health of Bermuda's marine ecosystem is entirely dependent on the health of the wider ocean that surrounds us," she said. "A feasibility study on a project of global importance protecting the Sargasso Sea will be completed in 2010-2011. "The Bermuda Government will be actively investigating...

Plastic collected on Bermuda beaches by BREAM volunteer Judie Clee. Note all plastic pieces are heavily bitten, presumably by turtles and fishes. From the Bermuda Sun newspaper [link] Friday 26th Feb, 2010 Heather Jardin Masses of plastic debris collecting east of BDA Scientists have discovered an area of the North Atlantic Ocean to the east of Bermuda where huge amounts of plastic debris are ­accumulating. The region is said to compare with the well-documented "great Pacific garbage patch. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation earlier this week Kara Lavender Law of the Sea Education Association (SEA) announced the findings of a two-decade-long study. Local scientist Dr. Thad Murdoch is the chief scientist of the Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping programme at the Bermuda Zoological Society and said the findings come as "no surprise". "The way the currents move around the Atlantic is very similar to the ­Pacific," Dr. Murdoch expl...