Blue Bay Marine Park Mauritius

The Blue Bay lagoon is a very rich marine area in terms of flora and fauna. However, over the years, development in the surroundings has had a very negative impact on the marine life (pollution, sedimentation, high pH and turbidity levels). In an attempt to protect the vulnerable habitats and damaged ecosystems found there, Blue Bay was declared a national park in 1997 under the Wildlife and National Parks Act and became officially a marine protected area in the year 2000 under the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 1998. The park covers an area of 353 hectares and is protected under the international RAMSAR convention (convention related to the protection of all wetlands throughout the world), the second one actually on the island (the first one being the Rivulet Terre Rouge for migratory birds). The park is enclosed by pillar shaped buoys because they are more stable and resistant to rough waters as opposed to the older conical shaped buoys thus demarking the protected zone to the public. In 2007, a zoning scheme was adopted for different activities in the park. Permissible activities thus include swimming, diving, snorkelling, glass bottom boating and water skiing. The important marine life in the park includes corals, macroalgae, marine invertebrates and fish. Amongst the fish mostly these species can be found: wrasse (labridae), parrotfish (scaridae), goatfish (mullidae), butterflyfish (chaetodontidae), mullets (mugilidae), damselfish, clownfish (pomacentridae) and eeltail catfish (plotosidae). As per 2008, 38 coral species and 72 fish species were identified in the waters. Because of its sensible ecosystem, Blue Bay marine park is object to long term monitoring whereby samples of marine organisms (corals, algae, fish) are collected occasionally and analysed in the laboratory. Water tests are also done to regulate the water quality as per the set Mauritian standards. These tests are usually done by the MOI (Mauritius Oceanic Institute) or by NGOs such as MMCS (Mauritius Marine Conservation Society). Users of the park must have permits to operate within its limits and so they have to pay a certain fee to obtain these permits; the money obtained in this way is used to fund other projects with regards to the park such as laboratory analyses and management. An environmental impact assessment document (document detailing all the works to be done as well as possible consequences of the construction project on the immediate and surrounding environment) must now be submitted to the Ministry of Environment for any construction work in the area because of the park.