An analysis commissioned by the Bertarelli Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts found that Easter Island’s marine environment to be one of the most unique in the world. Due in part to its remote location and vast size, Easter Island’s waters are potentially vulnerable to illegal fishing—a criminal activity dependent on the perception that “no one is watching.”

The Rapa Nui community has long claimed that foreign vessels are fishing illegally in their waters and local fishermen have reported seeing, what they believe to be, fishing vessel lights in their waters at night; buoys and long line nets, which they don’t use, have often been found washed ashore.

The Bertarelli Foundation enlisted the help of SkyTruth, a U.S.-based non-profit organisation specializing in satellite-based remote sensing technologies, to monitor via satellite Easter Island’s waters. Using two different satellite technologies—Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—the information collected enabled suspected illegal fishing occurring far out at sea and over a vast area of water to be pinpointed with incredible accuracy.

From January to December 2013, they collected information about most of the commercial maritime traffic, including numerous commercial-scale fishing vessels, passing through the more than 700,000 square kilometer marine area that surrounds Easter Island Province. It is believed that this is the first time that these satellite technologies have been combined in this way and used to monitor a country’s waters for illegal fishing activity.

With data collected through October 2013, including 163 satellite images, 73 vessels were detected in and around Easter Island’s waters. Of these, 31 were identified using AIS (22 cargo ships, 5 fishing vessels, 1 cruise ship, and 3 undefined). More than half (the remaining 42 vessels) did not identify themselves using AIS, and – based on their size and location – were determined by SkyTruth to be commercial fishing vessels. Twenty-five of these vessels were detected within Easter Island’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The evidence collected so far suggests that unidentified commercial fishing vessels are operating in Easter Island waters, possibly engaged in illegal fishing activity. There is more work to be done to determine the extent of the problem and so the Bertarelli Foundation has committed to a further six months of monitoring in order to further pinpoint when and where possible illegal fishing is occurring in Easter Island’s waters.

Like many isolated oceanic island, the waters around Easter Island are particularly vulnerable to the onslaught of illegal fishing activity. Local fishermen have long reported seeing, what they believe to be, fishing vessel lights in their waters at night; buoys and long line nets, not used by Rapa Nui fishermen frequently wash ashore.  Keen to help the Rapa Nui protect their waters, the Bertarelli Foundation has partnered with the Pew Charitable Trusts to support a local grass-roots campaign on the island.

An analysis commissioned by Pew and the Bertarelli Foundation found Easter Island’s waters to be one of the most unique marine environments in the world. One hundred forty-nine species found here are found nowhere else on earth — that’s more than on the Galapagos Islands. And 27 species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are found there, including the critically endangered southern bluefin tuna.

A supporting economic study found that the ocean, and fishing specifically, is an important component of the island’s economy and is a key supporting factor for tourism.  fishing data also suggests that recent decades have seen a drop in catch rates, particularly among key local species such as yellowfin tuna and the Easter Island spiny lobster.

Dona Bertarelli, Co-Chair of the Bertarelli Foundation said:

“I have seen for myself how the world’s oceans are under threat and how important it is that we all do what we can to protect them.  Having met the Rapa Nui and seen the beauty of Easter Island I am so delighted that the dream of a reserve has come true. This is a vital moment in global marine conservation. Not only does it significantly increase the extent of our protected oceans, but it is also an example to the world of what we can achieve with ambition, with cooperation, and with hard work.”