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ISSN 1355-6746

Chagos NewsThe Periodical Newsletter of theChagos Conservation Trust

No.37 January 2011

EDITORIAL

Chagos News is going electronic. This will bethe last paper version sent to members, futureeditions will be emailed to you. There areseveral benefits to this: it saves CCT a great dealof money which can then be used onconservation efforts, there are the environmentalbenefits of saving paper and transport ofnewsletters around the world, and it means thatyou have an electronic copy which can be storedmore easily. If you want a paper copy you caneasily print it out. This time, along with this papercopy, you should also receive an emailed pdf. Ifyou do not receive the pdf it is because we don’thave your email address and you should let themembership secretary know by emailingmembership(at)chagos-trust.orgConversely, if you receive this only as the pdf, itmeans that we do not have your postal address(or the postal service lost it) and you shouldsimilarly email the membership secretary tocheck.

This edition of Chagos News has a historicalconservation theme and the next edition willconcentrate on very up to date conservation.William Marsden starts with the history of thepreparations for the creation of the MPA andthen we read about the history of the nowthankfully banned whaling around Chagosleading on to a description of early, andunfortunately unsuccessful, conservation effortsin Chagos from Nigel Wenban Smith. Wecontinue with a history of the earliest scientificresearch in Chagos from Charles Sheppard andthen the story of the first of the modern scientificexpeditions told by David Bellamy, ending with ashort introduction to present day research alsowritten by Charles Sheppard.

Something to look forward to in the future are thesuperb results from the 2006, 2008 and 2010expeditions which are still in the process of beingpublished. These will show that the scientific

foundation of the Chagos MPA is rock solid.Newly emerging genetic data showing thebiogeographical links that several groups oforganisms in Chagos have with other areas in theIndian Ocean are particularly fascinating, as willbe the fish biomass data shortly to be published.

It is clear that, while Chagos is firmly a part of thewestern Indian Ocean in its biological character, interms of its recovery and resilience (resilience is amajor theme of reef research now) it differsgreatly after its post-1998 recovery, even from, forexample, some of its nearest neighbours.

If we need reminding why it is important to protectChagos then it is worth remembering that theconvention on Biological Diversity suggests 10%of the world’s oceans should be protected. This isabout 32 million sq km and is less than many nowargue is necessary. The median size of an MPAnow is 1.6 sq km, so we would need 20 millionsuch areas to achieve this.

In 2010, 260 leading marine scientists from about40 countries called for a worldwide system of verylarge MPAs as “an essential and long overduecontribution to improving stewardship of the globaloceanic environment.” Chagos is leading theway.

Anne Sheppard

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CCT AGM 2010Simon Hughes

Secretary, Chagos Conservation Trust

Courtesy of the Linnean Society of Londonthe Trust held its 2010 AGM in it’s mainmeeting room on Tuesday 30th November.

The accounts for the year were in betterhealth than usual due to a generousdonation of £10,000 from the ErnestKleinwort Charitable Trust.

The Chairman gave highlights of his annualreport, which is also on the website in full.

John Topp, founder of CCT, Carl Lundin, Head of themarine section IUCN, Charles Sheppard, WarwickUniversity, William Marsden, Chairman of CCT andDavid Bellamy Photo Dick Goodwin

Executive Committee Officers and Memberswere elected and now are: William Marsden(Chairman), Richard Martin (Treasurer),Simon Hughes (Secretary) and Members:John Topp, Pete Carr, Chris Davies, TaffetaGray (Membership Secretary), Alan Huckle,Rachel Jones, Heather Koldewey, SamPurkis, Pete Raines, Anne Sheppard (editorChagos News), Charles Sheppard and JohnTurner.

Under the item Any other Business, theChairman was thanked for his prodigiouswork in leading the Trust to the greatsuccess of the largest Marine ProtectedArea in the world.

After two short video clips of the underwatermarvels of the Chagos shown by JonSchleyer those present enjoyed three

Photo Dick Goodwin

presentations (covered elsewhere in thisissue), followed by a brief talk from theDeputy Commissioner BIOT, Andrew Allen.A reception afterwards allowed muchinteresting discussion.

Chainsaw conservation training

At the CCT AGM, the RSPB, as a member ofthe Chagos Environment Network, weredelighted to give Jonathon Isou, arepresentative of the Diego GarcianSociety, a small memento, presented to himby Dr Vaughan Southgate, in recognition ofhis successful completion of the chainsawcourse. Also participating on the course wasPeter Carr, the environmental manager forDG21 on Diego Garcia. Chainsaw training isprobably the most challenging introduction toconservation management so the RSPB wereparticularly impressed by Jonathon'sdetermination and proficiency. Jonathonproved to be a natural so we hope he willreturn to complete his certificate and that hewill be able to use his new skills to supportconservation both in the UK and on BIOT.

Jonathon with the President of the Linnean Society, DrVaughan Southgate, who presented the certificate.

Photo Dick Goodwin

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Chagos Conservation Trust/Coral CayConservation scholars

In the last issue of Chagos News weannounced the names of the two CCT/CCCfunded scholars who were going to train toparticipate in a diving conservationexpedition. In July of this the InternationalYear of Biodiversity 2010, 18 year olds LouisAugustin and Pascaline Cotte joined CoralCay’s coral reefs conservation expedition inCharlotteville, Tobago. The two scholarsjoined a team of international volunteers andscientists and were trained to (a) help theSpeyside community monitor coral reefs and(b) as members of the Diego GarcianSociety (DGS), transfer their newly foundknowledge, skills and enthusiasm for allthings marine onto friends and family onceback in Crawley, UK.

Pascaline and Louis during dive training.

Louis recording information during a research dive.Photos CoralCayConservation

On Thursday 2nd September, at the end oftheir course, Coral Cay Conservation (CCC)and Environment Tobago (ET) hosted aleaving reception for Louis and Pascaline atthe picturesque Rotunda at the BotanicalGardens in Scarborough, Tobago.

Louis and Pascaline had an unforgettabletime diving and researching Tobago’s reefsystems. During the ceremony Louis said “I'mso glad I learnt to dive in Tobago, the coralreefs really are the most beautiful thing I'veever seen. I truly hope they decide to protectthe reefs of Speyside and others in Tobago.”Marie Smedley, CCCs Project Scientistadded “it was so refreshing to see individualsso new to the world of marine science andconservation so passionate about our causeby the end of their month long scholarship.”Pascaline clearly personified the change thatcan happen in an individual’s perceptionswhen she said “by doing the CCC SkillsDevelopment Programme (SDP) I now feelready to go home and teach others about theimportance of the marine environment. TheChagos is so important to me as it is to myancestors - I want to see it protected andappreciated.”

At the CCT AGM at the Linnean Society onthe 30th December, the two scholars werepresented with framed certificates tocommemorate their achievement.

Pete Raines, CEO of CCC, Pascaline Cotte, LouisAugustine and Dr Vaughan Southgate, President of theLinnean Society, who presented the certificates.

Photo Dick GoodwinFor more information see

http://www.coralcay.org/content/view/953/281/

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Chagos News is a private newsletter producedby the Chagos Conservation Trust; RegisteredCharity Number 1031561. The views expressedare those of individual contributors and are not

necessarily those of the Charity or the Editor. Allrights reserved. Permission to reproduce anypart of Chagos News must be sought from the

Editor at chagosnews(at)chagos-trust.org

Possible Jobs with the Trust

Two interesting (paid) jobs may becomeavailable with CCT. Following the creationof the BIOT Marine Protected Area (MPA), itis planned that The Chagos ConservationTrust will in practice provide the Secretariatfor the Chagos Environment Network insupporting the Marine Protected Area.

If adequate funding can be secured, twopart-time ‘Assistant Secretary ‘ posts wouldbe created to work together and with theCCT Secretary and Treasurer as theSecretariat for both CCT and the ChagosEnvironment Network. One post wouldrequire a track record on fund-raising/development; the other would requireexperience with ‘outreach’, notably mediaand the website. Both would require a realinterest in nature conservation.

CCT has been run on entirely unpaid basissince its creation in 1992; so theseappointments, seen as needed to provideconsistent and active NGO support for theworld’s largest marine protected area; are anew step. The initial contracts are likely to befor one year from the second quarter of 2011and mainly, but not exclusively, for workingfrom home. Details will be published as soonas decisions are made.

Expressions of interest as or suggestions forcandidates can be sent to Simon Hughes:secretary(at)chagos-trust.org

Email AlertsOccasional information bulletins are sent outto members by email. If you would like toreceive these bulletins (very occasional, youwill not be plagued by them!), please sendyour email address to the membershipsecretary at membership(at)chagos-trust.org

Chagos NewsWe are always very pleased to receivesubmissions for Chagos News frommembers. Articles or photographs forconsideration should be submitted tochagosnews(at)chagos-trust.org

Chagos Conservation Trust WebsiteThe website is regularly updated with news.It is in the process of a major update at themoment, so log on regularly to keep up withevents

Chagos endemic coral hits the big time

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) hasjust launched its EDGE Corals programmewhich aims to generate conservation fundingfor 10 key species of coral around the world,identified at our workshop as evolutionarilydistinct and globally endangered (hence theacronym). Ctenella chagius is one of theones on the list. We have our flagshipspecies! For more information seehttp://www.edgeofexistence.org/coral_reef/default.php

The Chagos endemic coral Ctenella chagiusPhoto Anne Sheppard

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2010: CHAGOS CONSERVATIONYEAR

William Marsden CMGChairman, Chagos Conservation Trust

The new British Indian Ocean TerritoryMarine Protected Area

2010 has been an annus mirabilis for theconservation of Chagos. This year thedesignation of the whole of BIOT and itsseas (with the exclusion of Diego Garcia) asan International Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN) Category 1 no-take marineprotected area (MPA) was announced by theLabour Government, and is being fullyimplemented by the Coalition Government.Britain, by protecting the Chagos in this way,has taken a conservation action of immensescale and significance. Ninety percent of theocean’s largest fish have disappeared overthe past 50 years at the hands ofcommercial fishing, and the hunt for these,and especially tuna, continues unabated.Roughly one-quarter of coral reefs worldwideare already considered damaged beyondrepair, with another two-thirds under seriousthreat. Through protecting the Chagos, theUK government has made a huge stepforward on a number of globally agreedtargets, such as establishing arepresentative marine protection network by2012 and restoring depleted fish stocks by2015 where possible. Much credit is due tothe Ministers and officials involved.

Benefits of the new MPA

The Chagos Marine Reserve will safeguardin its entirety one of the world’s mostimportant and healthy ecosystems, deepsea, reefs and islands, and provide a bastionagainst this tide of destruction. It provides anessential reference site for future scientificresearch and study.

The MPA will assist in reducing the regionalloss of biodiversity and in replenishing fishstocks for the benefit of food security, fishstocks and sustainable livelihoods.

Understanding the changes to oceansystems caused by pollution and overexploitation of fisheries is possible only if

these effects can be compared with a part ofthe ocean that is comparatively unaffected bypollution and fishing. For the benefit of globalscience, the MPA provides a vital globalscientific ‘control site’.

The BIOT patrol ship Pacific MarlinPhoto Anne Sheppard

Coral reefs risk becoming the first globalecosystem to collapse and disappearbecause of climate change and oceanacidification. Maintaining the Chagos’ pureand unpolluted waters will make an importantcontribution to helping the survival of coralreefs.

Cooperation for the long term protection ofthe Chagos

CCT, in cooperation with the Governmentand many non-governmental organisations,has been promoting the conservation of theChagos Archipelago since 1992. NatureReserves, Important Bird Areas, and RamsarWetlands of International Importance werecreated; but a much more integrated legaland practical conservation framework wasneeded to meet the long-term challenges. AConservation Framework strategy paper wasproduced in 2007 by CCT with help fromRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds(RSPB) and others. The UK OverseasTerritories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF)was at the same time encouraging theGovernment to support environmentalconservation in the Overseas Territoriesmore effectively. Public awareness of thedamage being done to oceans and the valueof Chagos was being raised by ProfessorCharles Sheppard, Professor Callum

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Roberts, Frank Pope and The Timesnewspaper, Charles Clover with ‘The End ofthe Line’, and others. Some four years ofexpert and public consideration on Chagosprotection followed.

In 2008 the Chagos Environment Network(CEN) collaboration was formed andcomprises the Chagos Conservation Trust,The Linnean Society of London, The PewEnvironment Group, The Royal Society, TheRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds,The Zoological Society of London, TheRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The MarineConservation Society and Professor CharlesSheppard of the University of Warwickrepresenting a global forum of scientists.

In April 2009, CCT, supported by the PewEnvironment Group and CEN, published‘The ChagosArchipelago: Its Natureand the Future’ puttingforward the idea thatthe archipelago shouldbecome an integratedprotected areacomparable inimportance with theGalapagos or theGreat Barrier Reef. The NationalOceanography Centre in Southamptonorganised a significant expert workshop onmarine conservation in August 2009, whichhighlighted the scientific importance of theChagos. In November, the Governmentlaunched a four month public consultation, inwhich leading non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs) and more than270,000 people from over 200 nations andterritories supported a Chagos no-takeprotected area. Over 90 percent ofrespondents supported greater marineprotection for the Chagos. The leadingorganisations who wrote to support a no-take marine reserve included IUCN,Greenpeace UK, and Fauna and FloraInternational. The Zoological Society ofLondon contributed greatly with bothexpertise and outreach to a wider public.The Pew Environment Group’s instrumentalsupport for the creation of an effectiveconservation framework was crucialthroughout.

On completion of the consultation, theGovernment declared on April 1st 2010 that,having taken note of all the arguments forand against, it would make the British IndianOcean Territory a no-take marine protectedarea. The incoming coalition Governmentthen confirmed that it was going ahead withimplementation of the full project. Asubstantial contribution of £3.5 million to theindispensable costs of paying for the patrolvessel in the absence of revenues from tunalicences has been raised by the Blue MarineFoundation from the Bertarelli Foundationand we are most grateful to Mr and MrsBertarelli for this. From 1st November thisyear, all commercial fishing within 200nautical miles of the islands of the ChagosArchipelago in the British Indian OceanTerritory ceased.

Chagossians

The BIOT MPA was created “withoutprejudice” to the outcome of the legalprocesses relating to Chagossians andconservation arrangements could be modifiedif necessary in the light of a change incircumstances. CCT and other members ofCEN are very glad to be working withChagossians to help them to contribute to thefuture conservation of Chagos. In particular,CCT has promoted the involvement of theChagossian community through training withCoral Cay Conservation (CCC) as well asprojects with RSPB and the ZoologicalSociety of London (ZSL). We have seen andadmired the success of the Diego Garcianand Chagossian communities in Britain andtheir enthusiasm to be part of the success ofthe Chagos protected area. AllenVincatassin, Leader of the Diego Garcian andChagossian community in Crawley, andcolleagues participated in a habitatrestoration project at Barton Point in DiegoGarcia. Pascaline Cotte and Louis Augustin,both 18 years old, participated in a CCC coralreef conservation training programme fundedby CCT. We intend to take forward thiscooperation and indeed extend it to otherChagossian groups who want to work with uson conserving these islands.

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Management of the BIOT Marine ProtectedArea

The Government has made it clear that itbelieves that the Marine Protected Area isthe right way ahead to further theenvironmental protection of the Territory andthat it will also encourage others to takesimilar action in important and vulnerableareas under their sovereign control. It isunderstood that the BIOT MPA will bemanaged directly by the British Indian OceanTerritory Administration (as the Territory andits environmental protection have beenmanaged since the creation of BIOT). Therewill also be a scientific advisory panel.Detailed arrangements for the managementof the MPA are still under consideration.

The Scientific Research Expedition ‘Chagos2010’

The start of 2010 also saw another majorscientific monitoring and research expeditionled by Professor Charles Sheppard, coveringall the five atolls of the Chagos. Key criteriafor the work included the needs of the BIOTGovernment both for environmentalmanagement of the Territory and for theGovernment’s compliance with internationalobligations; the health of the atolls; effects ofsea level rise and erosion; illegal fishing; andthe science of island vegetation and of thehuge bird populations. Future scientificpriorities are currently under discussion.

Resilient and well recovered reefs of ChagosPhoto Anne Sheppard

The Deep Oceans of Chagos

Another area for future attention by scientistswill be the biodiversity of BIOT’s oceandepths. The MPA includes an exceptionaldiversity of deepwater habitats formed by theseparation of tectonic plates, fracture zones,sea-floor spreading, seamounts and ridges,6,000-metre-deep (about four miles) trenchesand vast deep-sea plains. Although thesedeepwater habitats have not beeninvestigated or mapped in detail, researchelsewhere has shown a close connectionbetween a physically diverse sea-floor andhigh diversity among species.

Ocean fisheries and the BIOT MarineProtected Area

The Western Indian Ocean is a region withone of the most exploited, poorly understoodand badly enforced fisheries in the world.Preliminary research indicates that theChagos Marine Reserve provides a crucialstepping-stone and reservoir for manyspecies of marine life in the Indian Ocean. Itis hoped its protection will assist in thereduction of the regional loss of biodiversityand protein productivity, and that it willfacilitate the dispersal of larval fish and coralspecies from the islands’ ecosystem,replenishing populations depleted elsewhere.

Chagos, despite its remoteness, has notbeen immune to the effects of commercialtuna fishing in the area. About 60,000 sharkswere legally killed in a five year period bylong-liners fishing for tuna in Chagos waters.Of these, half were blue sharks, a nearthreatened species. It is estimated that inaddition to all the sharks caught, about60,000 rays were also legally caught, andthese two figures do not account for all theother species discarded, mostly dead anddying. On 31st October 2010, all legalcommercial fishing came to a halt, asprovided for under the no-take provisions ofthe new Marine Protected Area. This willallow Chagos and its surrounding waters toprovide a safe refuge and breeding site formigratory and reef fish, marine mammals,birds, turtles, corals and other marine life,

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allowing them to play their full part in avibrant ecosystem.

Young Hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata inSalomons lagoon Photo Anne Sheppard

The Tiny Islands of Chagos: TerrestrialConservation

It is not just the BIOT waters that areteeming with life. While Indian Oceanseabird populations are subject to numerousthreats and are at a fraction of their historiclevels, the 54 tiny islands, although theycover in total only about 8 square miles,provide a safe haven for over 175,000 pairsof breeding birds. They are a home too forother vulnerable marine creatures such asthreatened turtles and the world’s largestterrestrial arthropod, the coconut crab.

In the course of the past year, good progresshas been made with defining the priorities for‘terrestrial’ conservation on the islands.Based on the 2010 Scientific Expedition, DrColin Clubbe of The Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew carried out ‘flora’ investigations on nofewer than 39 of the islands and, with PeteCarr, a member of CCT’s ExecutiveCommittee with extensive experience of theChagos islands, produced recommendationsfor ecological requirements and prioritisationof the islands for eventual restoration work.

CCT-US

In March 2010 I had the pleasure ofparticipating in a CCT-US seminar on theBIOT Marine Protected Area, at the UnitedStates National Coral Reef Institute inFlorida (where Sam Purkis, CCT-USChairman, is an Associate Professor). So

CCT-US is now up and running and itsimmediate plans are to develop a networkand membership base in the United Statesand to initiate fund-raising. CCT-US hasidentified its initial fundraising goal to jointlyfinance, with the CCT, a habitat restorationproject for a pair of islands on the north ofPeros Banhos. Accomplishment of this taskwill serve as a step to return the nativebirdlife to its natural state. More informationon the CCT-US and its goals can be obtainedfrom its website (www.cctus.org).

The Chagos Conservation Trust’s FutureRole

The CEN and other organisations agree onthe need for CCT to continue with itsdedicated and coordinating NGO role forChagos conservation, science and educationwith a strengthened ‘Secretariat’ capable ofperforming as the CEN Secretariat (as is setout in the CEN Memorandum ofUnderstanding) as well as making its owncontribution to the success of the BIOT MPA.Meanwhile Simon Hughes, as Secretary notonly of CCT but also the ChagosEnvironment Network, and Richard Martin,our excellent Treasurer, continue to sustainour collaboration. Support from the PewEnvironment Group and an importantdonation of £10,000 from the ErnestKleinwort Charitable Trust as well asgenerous donations from some ‘Friends’ andMembers subscriptions, enabled us to coverour increased costs in this recent active andvery successful period.

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Conference on Science of Chagos atthe Linnean Society of London

Results from Chagos research will bepresented at a full day meeting to be held atthe Linnean Society of London, on Thursday24th November 2011.

Also, reviews, interpretations and new resultswill be published in a volume by Springer, intheir magnificently produced series of bookson coral reefs of different regions, either latein 2011 or early 2012.

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Words of Authority on the New MPA

Representatives of IUCN, the InternationalUnion for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)and of the UK’s Foreign and CommonwealthOffice spoke at the Chagos ConservationTrust’s meeting at the Linnean Society on30th November.

Dr Carl Lundin (Head of the Global MarineProgramme, IUCN ) congratulated thoseinvolved with the creation of the ChagosMPA which was ‘arguably the mostimportant marine protected area in the worldat the moment.’ With this achievement wewere embarking on ‘a wonderful journey ofdiscovery and a wonderful opportunity toshow the world that it is possible with frugalmeans to create a great reservoir ofbiodiversity for the rest of the oceans’. TheChagos MPA should be looked on as aninsurance policy against all the stupidities weare doing to the seas. It might provide theworld with a way back from disaster, ifhuman pressures were to be reduced andallow for recovery and replenishment.

Dr Lundin spoke about needs for effectivemanagement of the MPA. To start with,effective enforcement was the key; it mustbe made immediately clear that no-oneinfringing the MPA laws was immune fromprosecution. Australia and others offeredsome positive examples for achieving this.An adequate revenue stream for therequirements of MPA management was alsoessential; given the pressures ongovernment budgets. The MPA should havea good business plan to meet this.Some funding from very limited visiting, forexample for diving, should not be excluded.And since the MPA would protect anoutstanding reservoir of biodiversity andbenchmark for science, an efficientprogramme of scientific monitoring andresearch should be developed, building onthe good work of Professor Sheppard andothers and exploring ways of doing thiseconomically. Generally, there would bebenefit in sharing best practice for managinglarge marine reserves with other large MPAsand countries like France which had similarinterests.

Andrew Allen (Deputy Commissioner ofthe British Indian Ocean Territory) saidthat both the UK Government and theGovernment of the British Indian OceanTerritory (BIOT) were hugely enthusiasticabout making the BIOT Marine ProtectedArea (MPA) a success and hoped it would setan example to encourage others throughoutthe world. It was with that broader picture inmind that David Miliband had made hisdecision on 1st April, and it was in the samecontext that William Hague supported, afterundertaking a detailed examination of thesituation and background.

The Deputy Commissioner confirmed that thelast fishery licence issued had expired on 31st

October and that from 1st November 2010 nolegal fishing had been authorised.

Since there was now no income from fisherylicences BIOT faced financial difficulty. Hewas, however, confident that negotiationswith the Blue Marine Foundation and theBertarelli family trust would make a seriouscontribution to the running expenses of apatrol vessel for which a tender had nowbeen issued. Meanwhile, patrolling continuedand 24 Sri Lankan fishers were presently indetention at Diego Garcia for poaching.

The BIOT Government was examining theneed for effective management of the MPAand for any changes to laws.

There had been extensive discussion with theUnited States bearing in mind that BIOT hadbeen created for the defence of the UK andUS. Discussions had been positive, but therewere inevitably some red lines.

The UK/BIOT Governments wished to involveChagossians. There had been somediscussions with Olivier Bancoult in which thishad been made clear; but he had sought aJudicial Review of the consultation procedureand of the decision to create an MPA. Thiscase was being strongly defended by theGovernment. There would be a hearing nextyear after the result of the case at theEuropean Court of Human Rights (forresettlement and further compensation) hadbeen heard, which was also being stronglydefended.

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In planning for the success of the MPA theBIOT Government was considering theimpact on others with an interest includingthe yachting community. It would like toinvolve others in the Indian Ocean.Discussions had already started: with theSeychelles and Maldives there was positiveengagement; with Sri Lankans some quiteserious issues needed to be addressedrelating to illegal fishing. In particular theGovernment wanted to find a way to workpositively with Mauritius.

Andrew Allen closed by repeating that, whilesome patience was needed, the Governmentwas ‘strongly enthusiastic’ about the newBIOT Marine Protected Area.

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The Whaling Industry and the ChagosArchipelago

Dr Marina CarterNigel Wenban Smith CMG

In the mid 19th century, the settlements onChagos were well known to the men whoregularly cruised the Indian Ocean whalinggrounds. In 1838, a British official sent toinvestigate the conditions of ex-slaves on thearchipelago, reported, “Diego Garcia hasplenty of water and fire wood as well as pigsand poultry, and it is much resorted to bywhalers and vessels bound from England toIndia for supplies of that description.”1 EvenVincent Ryan, the Bishop of Mauritius, usedthe services of a whaling vessel when hevisited the Chagos islands in the summer of1859.2 While not every whaler stopped at theChagos for supplies, their presence was afamiliar site around the archipelago forseveral decades. Scott writes that “duringthe 1860s and 1870s … and for a decade orso before and after, the seas around DiegoGarcia were a favoured haunt of whalers,with some wrecked on its reefs.”3

The log books of American whale ships fromNew England, covering years between 1834and 1870, survive in large enough numbersto provide a record of numerous whalehunting voyages around, and occasionalstopovers at, the Chagos archipelago. In

general, the entries are frustratingly brief;nevertheless, they provide tantalizingglimpses into the locations and activities ofthe whalers in and around Chagos. Apreoccupation of those whale ships intendingto call at Diego Garcia for supplies was tofind a way through the shallow banks andsharp reefs and to take soundings in order tosecure a sound anchorage. The examplesquoted below are typical. One majorexception is that of the Merlin of NewBedford. Unusually, the surviving journalswere authored by two American women, thedaughter and wife of the ship’s captain, andinclude an account of the family’s stay atDiego Garcia in February 1870. Theiraccount makes a valuable contribution to oursparse knowledge of the island’s life during aperiod of ten years when no official visits ofany kind were made to the Chagos. It willappear in a forthcoming history of theArchipelago.

Returning to 1834, Peleg Sanford’s log keptaboard the Herald of New Bedford recordedon Sunday 18th March ‘Diego Garcia in sight’and on Monday 19th March: ‘Stood in for theharbour. Went in with the boat on surveyreturned on board and stood in to the harbourand come to anchor in 10 fathoms water hardbottom’.4 The Herald spent over a weektaking on supplies:

‘Tuesday 20th

to Thursday 29th. The boats

are going on shore and bringing off barrelsof water, also wood and 80 fowls and 1 hog.The crew are also allowed on liberty ashore.Friday March 30

th1834. At 10 got underway

from anchorage and stood to sea at 4 pmlast sight of the land’.

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The Tuscadora also provided information ofprovisions procured at Chagos: the ship tookon fish, bananas, fowls and eggs at DiegoGarcia during a stop there in 1840.6 Similarly,in 1846, the ship Harbinger, of Westport,Mass., mastered by Samuel Brownell, offersthe following entry for Thursday 19th February“at 10 am saw the Island of Diego Grasha; at11 am came to anchor at the said island in 10fathoms of water”. On Monday 30th March,the log again reports that ‘Diego de Grachiain sight at sundown’.7

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In December of the same year, we find afuller account of whaling close to DiegoGarcia.

The Hector’s approach was recorded asfollows:

Wednesday 9th December at 1 pm saw theisland Diego Garcia bearing SW dist 20miles … at 7 am kept of SW for land at 10am passed Middle Island at 12 am came toanchor at Mariana Establishment in 6fathoms and furled the sails.

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Between the 10th and 18th December theship was ‘employed getting wood, water &small refreshment’, during which time thecrew was given 4 days liberty, and a numberof ‘ships jobbs’ were completed. On Sunday20th December the Hector was ready for sea.Cruising nearby, at 6 pm on 31st Decemberthe crew “saw island Diego Garcia bearingWSW dist 20 miles middle and later partslight airs so ends this day in Lat 7.22 S andLong 72.45 E”. Whales were evidently veryclose as the log for the next day records:

January 1st 1847 ... at 7 am saw a shoal ofsperm whales at 8 lowered away the boatsin chase at 10 starbord boat struck andparted line, larboard boat struck and killedwaistboat likewise at 12 midday took onealong side and kept ship off for the others soends this day Lat 7 43 S.

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On 2nd January the dead whale was takenalongside, cut and boiled, this work takingtwo days. The cruise then continued, and onthe 6th, Diego Garcia was again sighted,along with ‘a number of porpoises’. Theentry for Saturday 16th January found theship on Pitts bank and in view of the SixIslands. The next day, writes the journalkeeper, ‘at 8 am saw bottom on Pitts banksounded and found 8 fathoms water’. Oneach of the following three days sightings ofporpoises were recorded and on Tuesday19th, the position of the ship was stated to be‘standing to NE Diego Garcia in sightbearing S dist 20 miles Lat 6.51 S Long72.35’.

A more typically brief log entry was that ofthe Montezuma of New Bedford in 1848: “atsunset we made the island Diego Garcia”and on the following day “we were cruisingoff the island.10 Mention of sightings and

interaction with the settlements on DiegoGarcia appear in a number of instances. TheArab, at Chagos in the mid 1840s, recordedpassing East Point and Miniminiestablishments, the latter also mentioned bythe Harrison, a decade later, under the name‘Minuminu’.

While Diego Garcia was important forsupplies, the whole of the archipelagoprovided attractive hunting. During the cruiseof the Arab of Fairhaven, between March1849 and September 1852, the log recordedsighting Nelson Island, Peros Banhos, theBrothers Islands, and Eagle and Dangerislands, as well as mentioning the names ofCenturion Bank, Speaker bank north of thearchipelago, and Swift’s Bank.11 At DangerIsland she obtained turtle. In the late 1860s,the Sea Fox of Westport made severalwhaling cruises in the Indian Ocean, duringwhich time Eagle Island, Salomon Island andDanger Island were reported as having beensighted.12 The banks were also popularfishing grounds for the whalers, with anumber of logs in particular mentioningfishing on Pitts Bank, while the Alto alsofished off Six Islands.13 The location of thislatter place was given by the Harrison as Lat6.34 Long 71.3.14

The bark Elisha Dunbar made a voyage to the Indian

Ocean in the mid 19th century, and stopped at

Mauritius, but makes no mention of Chagos alas.

Source, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire Rauner Library

Special Collections Elisha Dunbar [bark of New Bedford] log

1858-62.

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The log of the bark John Dawson ofFairhaven, Mass., on an 1868 cruise, offersrather more information than the usual terseentries. After sighting the ‘Egmont or SixIslands off the lee bow’, on May 13th, andspending the next few days ‘cruising on PittsBank’, the ship arrived off the north west ofSalomon Island on May 25th and anchored at4 pm. A boat came to the ship, and thecaptain spent the night at a ‘Frenchman’shouse’. The ship then anchored alongsidethe settlement on Salomon, it now beingnoted that the island was called Boddam bythe French. Rafts were sent on shore andprocured 100 barrels of water and 6 cords ofwood ‘given to us all out for nothing’. It wasalso noted that the head of the settlement,‘gives us all the coconuts that we want’. Thelog’s entry for the next two days providessome interesting details about the activitiesof the crew on shore:

Wednesday May 27th 1868 There neverwas a ship here before as long as they havebeen here [12 years]. M Decoiring and wifeand child dine aboard this PM. All handswent ashore this afternoon some gunningafter shells and coral got large quantity ofthe latter, brought some pigs aboard there isgreat many of them also fowl.Thursday May 28th 1868 Brought aboardthis morning three boat loads of coconuts,plantains fowl and pigs, a present fromMonsieur N Decoiring got underweigh at 8am. We had to tow with all the way outabout 8 miles crossed the shoal about lowwater with 3 fathoms of water. Mr Decoiringaccompanied us out over the bar. The boysgave him three cheers when he left.Entrance to these Islands are at NW. Ourcourse is W by N … Peros or Banhos Isleand Three Brothers on our weather beamthis afternoon and evening.

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Whalers often possessed an ink stamp in the shape ofa whale and would mark the number of whales caughtin their daily journals each day with the stamp, addingcomments, in this case 'A Stinker'. Source New BedfordWhaling Museum.

As elsewhere in the world’s oceans, intensivehunting decimated whale populations.Fortunately, the discovery and exploitation ofpetroleum in Texas and elsewhere arrivedjust in time to save the whales fromextinction, though not the whalers frombankruptcy. The effects of that intensiveslaughter are felt in Chagos waters to thisday. During the same period, petroleum, byreplacing many end-uses of coconut oil,began to undermine the long-term profitabilityof the Chagos plantations. But that is anotherstory.

Marina Carter trained as an historian, specializingin 19th century Mauritius, and holds a doctoratefrom the University of Oxford. She is the author ofseveral publications dealing with the SouthwestIndian Ocean islands.

1. CO 167/204 ‘Apprentices in the Islands dependent onMauritius’ Instructions to and Report of Mr Special JusticeAnderson’ enclosed in Sir William Nicolay’s despatch no 105of 23 Oct 1838.2. Ryan, V.W., Mauritius and Madagascar: Journals of AnEight Years’ Residence in the Diocese of Mauritius, and of aVisit to Madagascar, London, 1864 p. 142.3. Scott, R. Limuria. The Lesser Dependencies of Mauritius,OUP, 1961 [reprinted 1976 Greenwood, USA] p. 259.4. NBWM ODH Log 770, Herald of New Bedford, Mass. ,mastered by Frederick Ricketson, kept by Peleg Sanford, 1July 1833 - 8 Mar. 1834.5. Ibid.6. NBWM KWM 390 Log of the ship Tuscadora [ship] ColdSpring Harbor, Edward Halsey, master 14 Feb 1840-13 May1841, p 74.7. NBWM ODH No 710, Log of Harbinger 2 Jan. 1845-1 Oct.1847. Brief mentions of Diego Garcia can also be found inKendall Whaling Museum [KWM] No 18 Bevis Bark of NewBedford Angles Snell master 4 Jun 1850-14 May 1853 andKWM No 22 A R Tucker Bark of New Bedford Daniel LakeRicketson master Annie Holmes Ricketson keeper 2 May1871-17 Oct 1874, p. 239; KWM No 148 Montezuma bark NewBedford William Allen master Prince Lawton keeper 15 Sept1846-1849 p 103-68. NBWM ODH No 1052A, Log of the Hector (Bark) ofWarren, Rhode Island, mastered by William Martin, on voyagefrom 8 July 1845 - 4 Dec. 1847.9. Ibid.10. New Bedford Whaling Museum [NBWM] Old DartmouthHistorical [ODHS] No 44, Log of the Montezuma of NewBedford, Mass., mastered by William Allen, kept by mateJoseph Clark Smith, on voyage 10 Oct. 1846-14 Aug. 1849.11. NBWM KWM No 255 Arab [ship] at Fairhaven Samuel TBraley master 22.3.1849-12 Sept 1852, passim.12. NBWM KWM No 182 and No 233 Sea Fox bark JosephW Lavers master 25 Nov 1869-14 Feb 1871 p 55-7, and July1867-21 Sept 1869, pp 49-51, 69-70.13. NBWM KWM No 14 Alto [bark] of New Bedford AnglesSnell master 1 June 1854-7 Apr 1857, p 70; KWM No 255Arab, p. 62.14. NBWM KWM No 259 Arab [ship] 22 Nov 1845-2 June1849, p 180; KWM No 261 Harrison ship G T Branley master15 Jul 1854-15 Sept 1857, p. 102.15. NBWM KWM No 268 Bark John Dawson Captain Wicks,

Log keeper, Frederic Taber Fairhaven Mass. 1868.

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Historical Conservation Issues: 1774-1901

Nigel Wenban Smith CMGDr Marina Carter

Sailors had always taken note of whatremote islands had to offer in the way ofwater and food, not only to provision theirships, but also with an eye to the possibilityof eventual shipwreck. Hence the practice ofleaving goats, pigs or chickens as livinglarders. This wisdom carried over into aprejudice against over-exploitation of theresources that presented themselves to newarrivals. In this brief survey, we see howthese instincts were – up to a point –reflected in practice, as initial settlement ofthe Chagos developed into long-termeconomic exploitation.

The sad story of the Green Turtle

The first British investigation of DiegoGarcia’s suitability for settlement was madein 1774, when hogs, sheep and goats wereleft to fend for themselves. When the EastIndia Company decided in 1786 to take overthe island, their plans included instructionsfor comprehensive natural surveys andexperiments with vegetable and fruitproduction. They also hoped – in vain – thatthe animals left behind twelve years earlierwould, in the absence of obvious naturalpredators, have increased in number; in fact,they had vanished without trace. On theother hand, accounts by previous visitorshad indicated that there were “large turtle onthe western side of the island”. Indeed, theFrench had constructed turtle pens on boththe eastern and western limbs of the islandand, on the eastern side had cut a trackthrough the undergrowth, by which turtlescould be carted from the shore to the pen.The leaders of the French settlement, absentat the time of the British arrival, laterreturned and explained that turtles, alongwith fish, formed the basis of their diet. TheEast India Company made a point of notingthat “this important resource must bepreserved”, providing instructions tominimise disruption to the turtle population:since they were likely to

“desert inhabited places on being muchdisturbed, we desire you will not admit ofone single turtle to be turned or caughtbeyond what will be from time to timeimmediately wanted for your people, norallow their common haunts to beunnecessarily molested.”

A large green turtle Chelonia mydas swimming in deepwater to seaward of Grande Ile Coquillage, PerosBanhos atoll Photo Anne Sheppard

Richard Price, leader of the expedition, madeefforts to carry out this injunction. Forexample, encountering an English deserterfrom a recently visiting French ship, who had“exposed the haunts of the turtle withoutpermission”, it was decided that if he re-offended he would be kept a prisoner onboard Price’s ship till the expedition’s supplyship, Admiral Hughes, sailed back to Bombaywith despatches etc. One of the Britishofficers from the latter also had to be told “notto turn so many turtle.” Turtles were indeedabundant. As Price reported

“The turtle is to be caught in almostevery part of the island … tho from 4 to500 lbs weight it is nourishing and farfrom cloying … no care or attention shallbe wanting on our part to prevent thedisturbance of these animals, that seemto come upon the beach very near theyear round, every 3 or 4 days – suchnumbers might be caught as to provisiona few ships, were the island clearer andthe communication more free, whereasat present we have but two places thatroads are made to the outside”.

Like the French, the British found itnecessary to kill the turtles for food and, fourmonths after their arrival, their ship’s surgeoncautioned against over consumption of turtle

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which he believed produced excess of redblood, leading to distended veins. Heattempted to cure this by bloodletting.However, few of the animals they hadbrought with them remained healthy; thehogs and fowls had survived, but did notproduce many young, while most of theturkeys and ducks had died, those remainingbeing ‘droopy and sickly’. It was not longbefore these and other factors led the Britishto abandon their plans for settlement; eventhe original French settlers seemed to bedisposed to give up and leave the turtles inpeace.1

Awareness of the vulnerability of the turtlepopulation remained, at least on the part ofgovernment. In the early nineteenth century,under French and subsequent British rule,the settlement of the Chagos was continuedby the grant of jouissances – concessionsheld at the pleasure of the Crown for ‘fishing,gathering turtles and exploiting the coconuttrees’. All of them included strict conditions“on pain of forfeiting the present permission”concerning the conservation of naturalresources, in particular

“to ensure that the multiplication andreproduction of turtles and coconuts be in noway diminished or affected adversely by themeasures used to harvest them. On thecontrary, only ripe coconuts should beharvested, with enough new trees plantedevery year to ensure continuance of anundiminished crop. As to the turtles, allnecessary measures should be taken toconserve their eggs and to save theemerging hatchlings from the voracity of thesea-birds which destroy so many.”

However, by 1826, when the first thoroughsurvey of Mauritus’ Dependencies wasundertaken by the British authorities, it wasnoted that Diego Garcia “has for many yearsbeen the Depôt for Lepers and must formerlyhave been an eligible situation, as at onetime great quantities of Turtle were taken,but latterly they have become extremelyscarce.” As explained in a previous issue ofChagos News2, a medically dubious theorythat turtle meat might cure leprosy requiredthe victims sent to the island to be providedwith at least one pound of this flesh daily.Although there were fewer than 50 suchsufferers, there was not enough meat to go

round. It seems certain therefore that theconditions of the jouissances had been utterlydisregarded.

With very few official visits to the islands, thisstate of affairs continued. When the MauritiusSurveyor General visited the Archipelago atthe end of 1864, he commented as follows:

“So far as the fisheries are concerned, thereare none which can be looked upon asaffording an industrial employment; beyondthe fish taken for the use of eachestablishment, and the capture of a few turtlebetween January and May, no labour isemployed on such a pursuit – and as afreehold title for an island would include thebenefit derived from taking the turtle I do notsee that any particular arrangement for thefisheries could be made beyond perhaps theprotection afforded to the turtle by aprohibition as to their capture except duringcertain months of the year.”

Unfortunately, his comments were ignored.The authorities were focussed on gainingfunds for the depleted Mauritian Treasury bysecuring a one-off cash payment in return forgiving the jouissances holders full propertyrights over their plantations; the newcertificates of ownership were devoid of anyobligation to conserve wildlife. In any case nofurther visit of inspection was made to any ofthe islands until 1875. By then edible turtleswere a rarity and so they have remained eversince on Diego Garcia, where by 1900workers were rewarded by a 6 rupeepayment for each one they caught. They didhowever continue to be caught fairly regularlyon other inhabited islands, particularlyEgmont and Peros Banhos, while theyremained numerous on Nelson Island. Therethey continued to provide a source of supplyfor the nearby Salomons, particularly inemergencies, such as the Second WorldWar.

Birds and other edible fauna

In 1867, a new manager, James Spurs, hadbeen appointed to run the East Pointplantation on Diego Garcia. Son of the FirstMate of a vessel wrecked on Astove Island inthe Seychelles, he might have been moreaware than most of the value of indigenousfauna. But he had in any case been asked by

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the Paris-based owners, the brothersLiénard, to report on the birds, turtle andland crabs (cipayes) which formerly existedthere in great numbers ; he had beenobliged to reply that they were almostentirely destroyed, specially the birds. Infact, shortly after he first came he hadactually seen hundreds of birds lying rottingon the ground, the men having killed farmore than they could carry off. From thattime Spurs had considered it his duty to takesome steps to protect the few that were leftand had placed a ban on all such killing.When Pakenham Brooks, the first magistrateto visit, arrived in 1875, he took the view thatSpurs’ action (as in other aspects of hismanagement) was arbitrary and tyrannous:

“The owners of the other two Estates do notprevent their labourers from killing sea birds,and the fact of the owners of this Estatepreventing the men from doing so does notin any way tend to augment the number ofbirds, and taking into consideration that theOwners only give their labourers a ration ofdry rice, it appears to me a great hardship todeprive them of the opportunities they haveto provide themselves with some otherfood.”

His recommendation was that the islanders“should everywhere be allowed to fish intheir leisure hours, and to kill sea birds, butat East Point, Diego Garcia, are prohibitedfrom doing so, and one fails to perceive thatthey receive any compensation or areprocured any additional comfort instead.”

The following year, a newly-appointedmagistrate, John Ackroyd (destined tobecome the most acute and respected of allthe island magistrates), paid his first visit andquestioned Spurs, who replied that he hadtold the men that he was compelled to do soto save the birds from complete destruction,but if they came back in any numbers hewould allow a moderate quantity to be killed;and that since he had taken these protectivemeasures, the number of birds has begun toincrease. He then inspected the Minni-Minniestate, where the labourers are

“allowed to kill as many sea-birds as theyplease, but either from previous wholesaledestruction, or other causes, there are veryfew left to kill. I did not see forty at mostduring my stay.”

More generally, he commented that“I can assert that sea-birds are scarce at

Diego and that the only place where I noticedany number of them was at East Point, butstill in nothing like the numbers that I haveseen on other islands”.

In 1877, Ackroyd revisited Diego Garcia.“I visited with Mr Spurs that part of the island

where the sea-birds generally build theirnests, and as we remarked they were comingback in considerable quantities, Mr Spurssays he will next year let the men take amoderate quantity for food.”

Birds like this Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata would not bedifficult to catch Photo Anne Sheppard

He seems to have done so, but that was notthe end of his conservation efforts. In 1880,visiting the island again, Ackroyd wasconfronted by three workers, who complainedthat Spurs had docked their wages for killingbirds. In a counter-claim, Spurs pointed outthat he had taken this measure because themen had been sent to the three islets at thelagoon entrance precisely to ensure that thebirds there were not molested. Themagistrate found in his favour.

Ackroyd took an interest in the state ofindigenous fauna and the consumptionthereof in other parts of the Chagos. AtEgmont,

“sea birds are plentiful on Iles Cipaye andaux Rats, and the labourers are notprevented from killing them. In certainseasons I am told great numbers of theireggs are found and are considered goodeating.”

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He made no mention of turtles there, butwas also

“informed that crabs, crayfish andperiwinkles or ‘bigornos’ are easily procured.There is also a large crab called ‘cipaye’, butit is not very readily caught.”

At Eagle Island, turtle could not be procuredat all, except by sending men to the ThreeBrothers. It would appear, from his silenceon the subject, that Ackroyd saw no seriousproblems over conservation at PerosBanhos or Salomon.

A large coconut crab Birgus latro. These globallythreatened crabs have become numerous since theislands have become uninhabited. Photo Anne Sheppard

Fish also were, of course, consumed by allliving in the Chagos. While visitingmagistrates noted differences in the types offish found at the different locations and theease with which they might be caught,scarcity was nowhere a problem. Somemanagers were however readier than othersto allow the free use of pirogues or netsbelonging to their establishments and themagistrates urged liberality. Most strikinghowever was the contrast they noticedbetween the results of fishing in the islands,compared with Mauritius itself (where thecontemporary records are replete withconstantly updated measures for improvedconservation). Typical is the followingaccount in 1877, again by Ackroyd:

“Fish is plentiful at East Point. I saw onemorning three hauls made with the large netof the establishment and a great number offish were caught quite enough for the wholeEstablishment and yet I was told the haulswere rather below than above the average.One day, while I was at Pointe de l’Est twomen went out fishing in the bay, and from

about 11 am to 3 pm caught 28 or 29 veryfine fish, the smallest of which would beconsidered a very fine fish in Mauritius. I hearhowever that not more than one third of themen fish at all regularly and not more than 8or 9 accompany the manager when he goesout fishing with the net, but still those who donot go out get their share of the fish caught,but of course after those who helped catch ithave had their choice.”

The last two decades of the 19th century sawlittle mention of conservation issues in visitingmagistrates’ reports. Most depressing, withthe wisdom of hindsight, was the lack of anymention of Hawksbill turtles, whosesystematic destruction for their high value tothe European fashion industry began inearnest in the 1890s. It may nevertheless beinferred that conservation remained aconcern to some of those familiar with theChagos. From 1899 to 1904, when a newordinance was promulgated for thegovernance of the Dependencies, variousdrafts and proposals circulated amongofficials. One magistrate, L. Leclézio, drafteda comprehensive law, with detailed measuresand penalties to

“forbid the destruction or attempt atdestruction of trees, and for a certain timeduring the year the killing, selling, taking, ordestroying or the attempt to kill, sell, take ordestroy any wild fowl, sea-bird, sea-bird’seggs, turtle, turtle’s eggs, found on or aroundthe islands forming any part of suchDependency”

........ Sad to say, this idea, although cast interms which gave managers vast room forevasive manoeuvre, never saw the light ofday.

1. A fuller account of this episode, based on theoriginal records in the Maharashtra State Archives, iscontained in the authors’ forthcoming history of theArchipelago.2. The Chagos Leper Colony, CN 35, January 2010

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Scientific history of Chagos: Earliesttimes to the start of studies on theliving reefs

Professor Charles Sheppard

Several accounts which could be fairlydescribed as being of natural history inChagos have been written ever since itsoccupation by coconut planters, about twoand a half centuries ago. These range fromdescriptions of the problems with rats in thelate 18th century to accounts of plants beingintroduced at various stages. But the start ofthe period of purposeful scientificexamination may fairly be said to havestarted with Darwin’s writing. By purposefulwe mean those systematic attempts tounderstand the processes by which theatolls were made, how they sustainthemselves, and how they work in abiological sense.

Darwin never visited Chagos, butcorresponded with Moresby of the RoyalIndian Navy, who in the mid 19th centurymade many Admiralty charts of exquisitedetail, done mostly by soundings taken bycrews in sailing ships and rowing boats.One recent exercise done using this datashowed the scale of his work: it requireddigitizing the details from the complete set ofChagos charts, generating nearly 10,000depth readings. These were mostly fromMoresby’s soundings (though some wereduplicated on different scale charts, makingperhaps 8,000 unduplicated soundings).Darwin had use of the charts amongst manyothers, and his 1842 theory of atoll formationby subsidence of a volcanic substrate washighly original and innovative. The atolls hediscussed focussed to large extent on theGreat Chagos Bank, and his ideas wereeventually widely accepted. For severaldecades though, his theory facedcompetition from competing theories, andthe reluctance to accept Darwin’s wassometimes brought about by disbelief thatthe required huge scale of earth surfacemovements was actually possible. Darwinsaid: “If I am wrong, the sooner I amknocked on the head and annihilated somuch the better I wish that some doubly richmillionaire would take it into his head to have

borings made in some of the Pacific andIndian atolls ...” This was finally done by theUS Atomic Energy Commission more than acentury later in Enewetak atoll in the Pacificwhen, in 1952, the drill reached volcanicfoundations after penetrating 1.4 kilometresof coral limestone. In Chagos, seismic workhas indicated that there is cumulative reefgrowth of a similar thickness, before reachinga volcanic foundation about 45 million yearsold (which is young compared with manyother areas). Much finer detail has sinceemerged with increasing knowledge of sealevel changes caused by ice ages and byvertical tectonic shifts of land.

Diagram illustrating Charles Darwin's theory of atollformation via coral formation on subsiding rocks.

Source Wikipedia

The naturalist G.C. Bourne visited DiegoGarcia in the 1880s and wrote about itsgeology, mainly in the context ofcontemporary discussion about how atollsare made. He broadly opposed Darwin’sconclusions saying that “most of the coralformations of the Indian Ocean mark areas ofelevation rather than of rest; certainly theyare not evidence of subsidence.” Much of hispapers explain why he thought this was so,which, because he was wrong in his basicunderstanding, has unfortunately led some todiscount much else of what he said, whichincluded some useful descriptions (if wronglyinterpreted) of Diego Garcia. But he wascertainly correct in some conclusions: “Ichallenge the statement that the destructiveagencies within an atoll or a submerged bankare in excess of the constructive. It would benearer the mark to say that they nearlybalance one another.” They do indeed and,in a healthy atoll, growth will obviouslyexceed destruction from both waves anderoding animals and plants. He was aheadof his time too when he discussed howgeochemistry was key: “…a notinconsiderable proportion of the carbonate of

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lime held in solution is redeposited in theform of crystalline limestone ….” And heaffirmed: “… the growth of corals, and theconsequent formation of coral rock within thelagoon is generally overlooked…” He alsounderstood the importance of wave actionpiling coral debris up upon the lands, to growand consolidate islands. All these factorsare important, but it took many decades fordetails to be ironed out. One key point wasthat some of these early authors thought thatcorals grew by eating plankton, and soassumed that reefs could therefore onlygrow in areas of sustained currents whichbrought them food. We now know that thecaptive single celled algae which aresymbiotic in reef building corals provideanything up to 90% or more of the coral’senergy needs, so that clear water and lightrather than current-borne plankton are key.Such misunderstandings were bound to leadto some erroneous interpretations. Bournesaid: “It must be remembered that we arevery ignorant about the food of corals” andthought that they might even be “vegetablefeeders” feeding on debris from the islands(which they are not). At that time, 130 yearsago, Bourne commented on the erosion thatwas then taking place along some lagoonshorelines, and on the accretion elsewhere.This was at a time when it was not knownjust how much the sea level had risen andfallen at different times since the last iceages, nor of the different rates at which thistook place in different parts of the world.

The captive microscopic single celled algae, calledzooxanthellae, found in many corals.

Despite some important observations,Bourne’s crystal ball gazing regarding itsmilitary opportunities was not very goodeither, given the future use of Diego Garcia.

He said: "I have even heard that it isproposed to protect the island by some sortof fortification, but how this is to be done, andof what use it would be to fortify an island 10feet high, which might be completelycommanded by a ship sailing outside of it, Iam at a loss to know". Probably nobodycould know, back then.

Gardiner (1936) wrote extensive descriptionsof other atolls in the archipelago, based on avisit made three decades earlier (he hadbeen held up in his publication, he explained,by the war, illnesses and other matters).This was mainly descriptive work whichlacked much synthesis, as was common atthe time. It was important because itdescribed atolls that had previously mainlybeen omitted and because by doing so, itprovides information against which tocompare changes that may have taken placesubsequently. One feature that was strikingat the time, and evident from some of hissketches, was the extreme narrowness ofsome of the oceanic reef flats (almost non-existent in some islands) protecting theislands and shores from the open ocean.

Several other brief encounters after this dateall added small pieces to the jigsaw: anaccount by Kohn (1968) on molluscs andseveral papers on turtles by Frazier based ona visit in 1970 and on turtle trade statisticsbeing notable, but, by and large, there waslittle scientific visitation for a while.

The next major compilation was a largedescriptive and detailed work published inAtoll Research Bulletin by Stoddart andTaylor (1971), based on work and collectionsdone during a visit to Diego Garcia in 1967.This, like much scientific work up to thatpoint, was terrestrial and inter-tidal (meaningin this case the reef flats which can be dry ornearly so at low tides). Stoddart brought withhim an unsurpassed, encyclopedicknowledge of the geography andgeomorphology of coral islands throughoutthe world, which added greatly to both hisunderstanding and explanations of DiegoGarcia. Different authors in this volumecompiled details of many groups of animalsand plants, and of the geography of the atoll.

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Stoddart expressed surprise at the largeproportion of Diego Garcia atoll that wasbeing used for coconut plantations:“…almost the whole area of the atoll (6250out of 7488 acres) was being cropped forcoconuts” Stoddart (1971, in the volume).These were known as the ‘Oil Islands’ forgood reason. On land, in paper No 18 ofthis collection he comments: “Little attentionhas been paid at Diego Garcia toconservation: the atoll has simply been usedas a supplier of coconut products, and to alesser extent of dried fish and turtles, forMauritius. Both the Green and Hawksbillturtle used to nest here in some numbers…The early settlers found the frigate birds,boobies, noddies, terns, herons andtropicbirds to ‘breed on these islands. ...(They) are considered good eating; thefeathers, too, make excellent bedding’(Anon. 1845, 483)”. The island, in otherwords, had been (understandably in thosedays) severely damaged in ecological terms.Guano mining and habitat destructionaccompanying the plantations had destroyedmost birds, including some huge terncolonies, along with several species nowlisted in the Red Data book, along with mostturtles and coconut crabs, along with thenative vegetation. Given that the initialcolonization was under a regime of slavery,none of this is at all surprising, and itmirrored many other islands in this ocean.At a later date, Stoddart says: “The firstpractical conservation measures were takenby James Spurs, when manager in the1870s…” who prohibited capture of all thesegroups but: “… in the absence of enforcingauthority or of any clear need forconservation it is unlikely that much attentionwas paid to it.” From later visits to the otheratolls, the same situation was seen to haveapplied to those islands as well, perhapswithout even benefits from the rudimentaryefforts of a James Spurs (see previousarticle).

This expedition was the last mainly terrestrialand intertidal survey of Chagos (so far!).Shortly afterwards came the first of a seriesof scientific expeditions characterized by twomain differences: firstly, they wereincreasingly based around conservationscience rather than straight description

(though they contained much of the latteralso), and secondly, they extensively usedunderwater breathing equipment, and thusstarted to reveal the real value of thisarchipelago, and it should be rememberedthat the submerged reefs are, after all, by farthe greater part.

By this time, the British Indian OceanTerritory had been created, and the use ofthe atoll had changed, with far reachingconsequences to the scientific value of thearchipelago, and this controlled also thedirection of future scientific work. Initially thisbegan to explore the huge unknown areabeneath the waves but later work veeredtowards research organized aroundconservation needs. As Stoddart (1970)had said in relation to his assessments ofAldabra (which at that time was also part ofBIOT): “…the arguments for the conservationof Aldabra itself for scientific research rested,at least in part, on a comparative analysis ofthe ecological status of neighbouring islands”.That kind of comparison is increasinglypertinent now to Chagos and its reefsbecause, as time has progressed, the rest ofthe Ocean’s reefs have suffered greatly fromover-exploitation, while those of Chagosstayed the same or have improved, leading totoday’s observed enormous differencebetween the reefs of Chagos and those inmuch of the rest of the ocean. The scientificexpeditions that started the path to thisconclusion are the story of the next chapter.

Bourne GC. 1886. General observations on the fauna ofDiego Garcia, Chagos group. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1886:331-334.Bourne GC ., 1888. The atoll of Diego Garcia and the coralformations of the Indian Ocean. Proc. R. Soc. 43: 440-461.Darwin CR. 1842. The structure and distribution of coral reefs.Being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle,under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N. during the years1832 to 1836. London: Smith Elder and Co.Darwin CR. 1845. Journal of researches into the naturalhistory and geology of the countries visited during the voyageof H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the Command ofCapt. Fitz Roy, R.N John Murray edition.Gardiner, J. S. 1936. The reefs of the western Indian Ocean.I. Chagos Archipelago. II. The Mascarene Region. Trans. Linn.Soc. London, series. 2, Zool., 19: 393-436.Kohn AJ. 1968. Microhabitats, Abundance and Food of

Conus on Atoll Reefs in the Maldive and Chagos Islands.Ecology 49, pp. 1046-1062.Stoddart DR. 1970. Coral Islands of the Western IndianOcean. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 136: pp. 1-5.Stoddart DR and Taylor JD. 1971. Geography and Ecologyof Diego Garcia atoll, Chagos Archipelago. Atoll ResearchBulletin vol 149, 237 pp. Contains 19 articles.

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The First Expeditions

Professor David Bellamy

My love affair with the Chagos Bank andwith coral atolls began with a letter from theRoyal Society asking me to lead phase six oftheir expedition to Aldabra in the IndianOcean in 1969. Of course I said yes and washooked.

With my eyes and mind opened wide by thisexperience I dreamed up the idea of tacklinga basic survey of the Chagos Bank which Ihad read about at school. It is a much largerand complex atoll system about which verylittle was then known. Fortunately a letterfrom the Joint Services Expedition Groupcame asking me if I could find me a coralatoll that needed to be surveyed.

We got together and with the force of theforces, (the Army, Navy and Airforce) tosupport and provender our scientific team,so two expeditions diving in the tropicsbecame a reality in 1972/73 and 1975 just atthe time when the world was being warnedof a catastrophic ice age just around thecorner.

The Great Chagos Bank is a very large andlonely atoll slap bang in the middle of theIndian Ocean and we were soon on a verysteep learning curve about diving inunsheltered water with big, and I mean big,sharks. A steep curve that every dayreminded us of the fact that it was CharlesDarwin who informed the world that coralatolls develop on the summits of extinctvolcanoes that are slowly sinking below eventhe highest tides. Indeed they woulddisappear from sight but for the fact thecorals like to grow in shallow water and sokeep their heads above water.

My team had the fun of the diving,surveying and labelling thousands ofspecimens and thanks to the help of astudent Zena Dinesen back at DurhamUniversity, and the expertise of Dr. BrianRosen at the British Museum, all of themwere given names, Latin of course.

We were pleased that our excited estimatesof coral diversity were not too exaggerated.

The coral lists included at least fifty-sixgenera and sub-genera of reef buildingcorals. Not bad for an atoll of which Darwinhimself said “these banks consist of sandwith very little live coral”. Of course we canforgive him as he was there when aqualungshad not yet been invented.

A temporary shelter for the expedition on Danger Islandin 1975 Photo Charles Sheppard

Our survey showed that the most active reefsof the Bank are situated around and betweenthe extant islands that are along the westernand northwestern margins of the atoll wherethey are sheltered from the main blast of theTrade Winds. The most exuberant growths ofcorals are along the most sheltered side ofthe atoll.

Atolls are a many splendored thing, complexliving communities existing tenuouslybetween all the extremes that theenvironment can chuck at them. Extremeswithin which an amazing diversity of animalsand plants find their niche in which they liveand reproduce.

Too much bad weather can spell doom forany reef, likewise too little turbulence mayresult in sedimentation of the reef waters andhence death of the reef-forming corals.Between these extremes lies the whole livingtapestry of the coral seas and this makes thefascination of becoming a fully submersiblereef ecologist.

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Fish

Sadly the fish populations of the banks werenot studied in any detail. Nevertheless itmust be recorded that they were rich both inspecies and in the abundance of largespecimens, especially of top carnivores.The production potential of the fisheries insheltered areas was made manifest by theabundance of fish that had made their homein the artificial reef created by the wreck ofthe El Maren discovered and surveyed bythe team.

Ferals

Detailed land surveys showed that the coprafarmers of the past had certainly had anadverse effect on the natural vegetation ofall islands except Resurgent. Coconutplantations are in effect monocultures withfew other species. However on all theislands, what natural vegetation still survivedappeared to be holding its own and patchesof original broad-leaved forest were makinga comeback.

Of the feral animals known to have beenintroduced on the islands, today only rats area real problem. They were only present onthe two largest islands that we visited,Egmont and Eagle (though they exist also onmany that these expeditions didn’t visit).These islands are infested with them; hencethe small numbers of nesting birds. Sadlythese two islands make up more than 80percent of the land area of these two atolls.

Birds

Detailed survey of the smaller rat freeislands during the second expedition foundthem overflowing with birds with anestimated total of 116,562 pairs made up ofpopulations of fifteen species.

From our knowledge of the relationshipbetween the terrain, vegetation and thenesting birds it was possible to calculate theapproximate number of each type of bird,which could move in and take up the nestsite potential of Egmont and Eagle. If ratswere removed it could be as high as 861,000pairs. It is worth recording the fact that

many of the species of birds showed minimalfear of the presence of Homo sapiens.

Bearing in mind the fact that the ratpopulations have not been subjected to anyartificial control over the past fifty years, ifindeed at all, it would seem feasible to effecttheir eradication using modern rodenticidetechnology. If this were accomplished it couldcreate one of the best sea bird sanctuaries inthe world.

Here is one place in the world where manhas fought and has lost his battle foreconomic survival within the living ecosystemof the area. Here is one place in the worldwhere nature need not be trained to livealongside man. I believe we can control therat population and aid the recovery of thebroad-leaved forest. Thus slowly and surelyreturning the Great Chagos Bank, back intoits “natural” state.

It is also true to say that over the decadesfollowing these expeditions, the so called“decades of destruction” were beginning totake their toll, trashing both terrestrial andmarine systems around the world. So muchso that it is true to say that today almost allthe main fishing grounds of the world areunder the stress of unsustainable fishing.

Fortunately the Chagos Bank is thriceblessed thanks to its remote location in thecentre of an ocean that is not renowned forits pelagic fisheries control. Chagos benefitsfrom(1) Lack of human activity, feet, nets andanchors smashing the reef flats that are thefront line solar powered sea defences of allatolls.(2) Lack of sources of non-natural silt thatkill off the coral polyps that are the mainarchitects and builders of the reefs.(3) Lack of sources of eutrophicants thatenrich the water allowing algae to smotherthe corals, killing the reef.

Take heed of the fact that the reefs of theChagos Bank quickly recovered after therecent bleaching episode. Likewise otherremote pristine atolls and reefs showed littledamage and rapid repair after the Tsunamis.There is also evidence that El Niño and La

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Niña cycles and tsunamis take greater tollson stressed reefs than they do on pristinereefs. Likewise the stressed reefs takelonger to revive and badly stressed reefs justcrumble away.

The first people to bring the problems of thestress of over fishing to the public were Hansand Lotte Hass closely followed by JacquesCousteau back in the 1960s. Loss of big fishopened the way to the take over of theMediterranean by “weed” species likecuttlefish and more recently jelly fish as theplagues of factory ships take their toll.

That is why I stated at the end my book Halfof Paradise that chronicled the findings ofthe first two expeditions.

“The whole of the Chagos Bank is worthy ofconsideration as a Marine and TerrestrialNature Reserve of international importance.Local, regional and international agreementshould be sought to that end to ensure itscomplete protection forever.

Subject to approval of the local and regionalgovernment (which is that of the BritishIndian Ocean Territories or BIOT) and theworld bodies concerned with theconservation of Nature and NaturalResources, the rat populations on bothEgmont and Eagle islands should becontrolled in order to allow the localpopulations of nesting birds to expand to usethe resource.

That a year long expedition is mountedwhich will go to the Group, its object being tocomplete the survey of the Great ChagosBank, including the reefs and islands ofPeros Banhos and the Salomons and thenearby, submerged reefs of Blenheim,Victory and Pitt Banks.

A comprehensive programme ofmanagement and study should be drawn upfor the benefit for every ones futures.”

Since those halcyon days much work hasbeen done to make some of those dreamscome true, culminating with the fact that theChagos Archipelago is now the world'slargest marine protected area. The present

scientific programme is in the safe hands ofProf Charles Sheppard, along with his wifeAnne, now of the University of Warwick (bothof whom worked with me in the early days)and with the international team that they havehelped to build up over 30 years.

A youthful David Bellamy on Danger Island and theBBC World about Us team who made the film An IslandCalled Danger which was aired in 1975

Photo Danger Island Expedition

The birds on Chagos make wonderful subjects forfilming as they are so tame

Photo Danger Island Expedition

Editor’s note – for afuller account ofthe expeditionsreadBellamy D 1979.Half of ParadiseCassell Ltd.London.

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Present Research in Chagos

Professor Charles Sheppard

Taking research visits chronologically,following the David Bellamy expeditions andusing the same theme of Joint ServicesExpeditions, his idea of a year long researchvisit took place in 1978/9, though because ofissues of weather and support vesselavailability, this actually had to be shortenedto 8 months. The several scientists that tookpart have long since published a largenumber of scientific accounts, which aremostly listed amongst the downloadable listsin http://www.chagos-trust.org/extrapage.asp?id=5. This work hasbeen talked about before but basicallydemonstrated, along with the earlier two inthat decade, the richness of Chagos’ reefsystem.

Probably at that time Chagos may havebeen little different to most other areas ofthat tropical ocean, but following the 1970s,during what Bellamy has called above the“Decades of Destruction”, increasingpressures took their toll almost everywhere.Chagos, as we now know, clearly avoidedsuch destructive pressures. In brief, and forcompleteness only since this later work hasfeatured in earlier Chagos News already, noscientific visits were then undertakenfollowing 1979, until 1996. This latter visitfor the most part showed continued vibrancyin most marine aspects, although poachingwas seen to have taken a toll in some targetgroups of species including sharks and seacucumbers.

But then things changed across the wholeIndian Ocean just two years later, when asubstantial ocean warming event resulted inextraordinarily high mortality on reefsthroughout. This was examined briefly inChagos in 1999, and then in more detail in2001, when Chagos was seen to havesuffered at least as much as most otherplaces with vast, completely killed areas. Atthat time it seemed, depressingly, to be nodifferent to most other places. Most reefsseemed to have nothing alive growing onthem showing vast areas of bare limestone,and – here is an unusual point – no seaweed

covering the bare rock either. Bare rock inshallow tropical water is certainly veryunusual. What it did have was continuedlarge numbers of fish grazing the substrate.

But then, in expeditions in 2006, 2008 and2010, we saw extraordinary recovery.Corals came back fast - Chagos showedsubstantial resilience. Results are mostly stillbeing worked up, but it seems likely that theresilience was conferred by the simple factthat there were no compounding stressessuch as over-fishing, nutrient enrichment andsedimentation, all of which are common andsevere problems in most places. Resilienceis now one major theme of reef researcharound the world – what does it meanexactly, and how do you get it, and how canyou retain it to recover from the next majorwarming pulse which most marine scientistsexpect will arrive sooner or later? Whateverresilience is, Chagos has it, so that it nowcontains about half of the reefs in the IndianOcean in good condition. The stories of thescience of the last 5 years, however, are nolonger history, but belong to a future issue ofChagos News.

Photos Anne Sheppard.

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The Settlement at East Point, 1819; Dutch print by Lieutenant Verhuel.

History of the Chagos Archipelago

The history of the Chagos Archipelago has been short and chequered. The islands have been settled for less than 250years and human activities have been conditioned, both commercially and militarily, from outside.

Although they were discovered by the Portuguese in the 1500s, the French, operating from Mauritius, were the firstto establish sovereignty in the 1770s, and to exploit the islands’ modest potential to supply fish and coconutproducts. Plantations were established in each of the main island groups under indefinite leases granted to a smallnumber of individuals and groups of proprietors resident in Mauritius. The initial work force was provided by slavesimported from Mauritius or directly from Madagascar and southern Africa. Their descendants, enjoying steadilyimproved employment terms, came to form, with those in other minor dependencies of Mauritius, a community ofislanders—the Ilois—distinct from the increasingly Indianised population of Mauritius. By the mid twentieth centurythe long term decline in the plantations’ viability was reflected in their consolidation into a single company underSeychellois ownership—Chagos Agalega. The population of the Chagos rose gradually to a peak of 1,158 in 1952,declining to around 900 in the 1960s.

British sovereignty came in 1814 with the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but its impact on the distant Archipelago wasonly gradual—the consequence mainly of the abolition of slavery in 1835 and a slow increase in administrativesupervision from Port Louis. From a military point of view, both Britain and France had been concerned to deny theother use of Diego Garcia’s excellent (but vulnerable) harbour, which eventually proved an asset in World War II.This island’s strategic importance, deriving from its mid-oceanic location, was however transformed by the changesin global power politics of the second half of the twentieth century.

As Britain yielded strategic influence to the USA, both countries took the view that their common military interestsrequired the exclusion of the established population of the archipelago and closure of the plantations—measuresundertaken with little consideration for the inhabitants themselves and leading to continuing distress, legal claimsand political controversy. In terms of the Archipelago’s history however, the effect has been to increase the transientpopulation of service and support personnel in Diego Garcia to its highest number ever (some 2,400 with peaks of6,000 at times of crisis), with one half of the island transformed into a major air and naval logistic base. The rest ofthe archipelago has reverted to a state of natural wilderness. Outside influence remains overwhelming.

For more history read Peak of Limuria. This revised and updated edition of Richard Edis’ book gives a lively account of the nature, discoveryand development of the Chagos Archipelago initially for coconut plantations, focussing particularly on Diego Garcia and its military role, whichfrom the beginning also attracted the attention of naval powers active in the region. It concludes by describing the gradual recognition of the

ecological importance of the Chagos and the growing impact of climatic changes, which threaten the Archipelago’s long-term habitability.

The Chagos Conservation Trust is a charity (Registered in the UK No. 1031561), whose aims are to promote conservation,

scientific and historical research, and to advance education concerning the archipelago. The Trust is a non political association.

If you would like more information on the publications (especially Peak of Limuria) or membership,please contact the Secretary (secretary@chagos-trust.org) or.

visit www.chagos-trust.org

058 11 January 2008 © Chagos Conservation TrustFor this text CCT is indebted to Nigel Wenban-Smith CMG who is writing the definitive two volume history of the Chagos