More than three-quarters of Bermuda’s residents want to see a protected marine reserve around the Island, according to a poll commissioned by global activist network Avaaz.

The organisation, which this week launched an online letter-writing campaign to get Government to move on the “Bermuda Blue Halo” proposal, said the result showed “overwhelming” support for the scheme across every demographic.

But former Premier David Saul, an opponent of Blue Halo, cautioned against taking the poll too seriously, arguing: “The question asked is a loaded question.”

The Avaaz poll involved 419 residents being interviewed over the telephone by pollsters Global Research between March 31 and April 5.

Participants were told that Government was considering establishing a reserve and that one proposal was the Blue Halo scheme which would “protect ocean life, have a minimal impact on current local fishing, because it mostly occurs inside of 50 miles, take a stronger stand against illegal foreign vessels, and help strengthen Bermuda’s conservation brand and with it the tourism economy”.

They were then asked: “Do you support the Bermuda Government establishing the Blue Halo, a fully protected marine reserve in our waters?”

Seventy six percent of respondents said yes, with 14 percent saying no and ten percent responding that they did not know.

The result was similar across every age group and across racial and gender lines.

Avaaz campaigner Lisa Vickers, a Bermudian, told The Royal Gazette the results showed that “an overwhelming majority of Bermuda residents support the establishment of a fully protected marine reserve in our Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ)”.

She added: “This comes as the Government is considering its decision on the creation of the largest ocean sanctuary in the Atlantic.”

Ms Vickers said 130 messages had been sent to Premier Craig Cannonier in the past week as part of the Avaaz campaign.

She said that in separate campaigns, hundreds of thousands of Avaaz members were pivotal in British and Australian government decisions to create the world’s two largest marine protected areas in the Chagos Islands and in the Coral Sea.

“Our oceans are in serious trouble due to overfishing and pollution,” she said. “Ocean sanctuaries like the proposed Blue Halo are a vital defence shield against ecological collapse and a haven for fish to breed.

“Creating the Atlantic’s largest marine reserve gives Bermuda a chance to shine as a world conservation leader protecting our amazing sea life for generations to come.”

Blue Halo objectors say the reserve could damage Bermuda’s fishing industry and prevent the Island from potentially profiting in the future from mineral mining on the sea bed.

Asked to comment on the poll yesterday, Dr Saul said: “The thinking behind the survey is completely biased. The question asked is a loaded question — hence, the results should be treated accordingly.”

But Ms Vickers responded: “I think there has been a healthy public debate on the issue and that most Bermudians know how they feel one way or the other. So while we did frame the Blue Halo in a clearly positive light — I doubt it would have swayed anyone just by the phrasing of the question.”

We asked Government yesterday for a comment on the poll and for an update on its plans regarding the creation of a marine reserve but did not receive a response by press time.

Global Research said its poll was weighted to be representative of the Island’s population in terms of gender, age, race and education.

The margin of error was +/- 4.9 percent at the 95 percent confidence level, meaning if the poll was run 100 times — asking a different sample of people each time — the overall percentage of people who responded the same way would remain within 4.9 percent of the original result in at least 95 of those 100 polls.