A passionate speech was delivered by the Minister of Public Works and Environment at the signing of landmark agreement for ocean conservation.

Jaché Adams spoke when he put his name to the Hamilton II Declaration, a joint drive between Bermuda and the United Kingdom to boost international support for the protection of the Sargasso Sea.

It is an historical deal to advance international co-operation on ocean conservation and the sustainable use of the Sargasso Sea under the United Nations’ Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.

Mr Adams told the gathering at Government House: “In Bermuda, you grow up knowing the ocean.

“It is there on the journey to school, on our way to work and it is where we often gather with our families and where many of us earn a living.

“We now have the responsibility to care for it. Signing the Hamilton II Declaration means we are accepting responsibility.”

He added: “I feel that responsibility personally and want my daughter and every child to inherit it.

“I want it to continue to sustain those who follow us.

“One day our children will judge our stewardship of the ocean they inherit.”

Uma Kumaran, MP and UK Minister for the Overseas Territories, made her first official visit to Bermuda and told TheRoyal Gazette “I will be back.”

She paid tribute to those who attended the gathering and insisted they should all “leave the world a better place than when we found it”.

Ms Kumaran added: “We only have one planet and the Sargasso Sea is one of the most vital parts in the marine eco system in the world.

“We have to do our part to ensure we preserve it not just for now, but for future generations.”

The declaration came more than a decade after the signing of the Hamilton Declaration and demonstrates the commitment of partners to the conservation of the Sargasso Sea.

A joint statement from Britain and Bermuda said it reflects growing international support for collaborative action to protect marine environments.

“The declaration recognises the global importance of the Sargasso Sea and is designed to begin the process for states party to the BBNJ Agreement to adopt legally binding measures to protect the Sargasso Sea,” it added.

“With the BBNJ Agreement now in force, and the UK being a party to it, it provides a global framework for legal protections that did not previously exist.

“State parties will meet for the first BBNJ Conference of Parties in January 2027 in New York, and the signing today of this declaration is the start of the process to gain their support.”

The statement said that the two countries worked together and recognised the efforts of the Sargasso Sea Commission and the governments, scientists, conservation organisations and civil society partners “whose leadership, expertise and commitment have advanced the protection of the Sargasso Sea over more than a decade”.

“We also pay tribute to the role of Government House, Bermuda, in bringing individuals and organisations to pursue this initiative,” it added.

Representatives of the Azores, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Monaco and the Turks & Caicos Islands, as well as more than 20 non-government organisations, also took part in the signing.

“We hope that others will do so at the Conference of the Parties,” the statement added.

“We intend a further signing ceremony to take place at the first meeting of the BBNJ Conference of the Parties in January, at which the EU have signalled their intent to sign.

“We encourage all interested partners to join this collective effort and reaffirm our collective commitment to working together to secure the long-term conservation of the Sargasso Sea and the wider ocean on which we all depend.”