The proposed Pitcairn marine reserve is a joint project of The Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Geographic Society and the community of Pitcairn Island.

Pitcairn Island is the home to the descendants of the most famous mutineers in history, who in 1790 scuppered their ship the HMAV Bounty and started to build a community on Pitcairn with their Tahitian companions. Following their discovery by the Royal Navy in 1814, the islands became a British Overseas Territory in 1838. Today the island is inhabited by around 55 people. Pitcairners have a strong affinity with the ocean and are keen artisanal fishers, both to feed themselves but also for sale to passing cruise ships.  They want to make sure that the waters around their islands remain in excellent condition for themselves and for Pitcairn’s future generations.

The National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas initiative is an exploration, research, and conservation project to explore, survey, and help protect the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean. By carefully studying how marine ecosystems work without human interference, we can learn how to help healthy reefs thrive, help unhealthy reefs recover, and better preserve the ocean, which covers more than two-thirds of our planet.

Global Ocean Legacy, a project of The Pew Charitable Trusts and its partners, and aims to establish very large, highly protected marine reserves around the world where fishing and other extractive activities are prohibited and marine life protected for generations to come. We work with local citizens, governments and scientists around the world to protect and conserve some of the Earth’s most important and unspoiled marine environments.