The team behind a government plan to protect Bermuda’s waters that has drawn opposition from the fishing community outlined the importance of the measures in a public lecture.

Future-proofing Bermuda’s Oceans, held last week at the Bermuda College Library, went over the Marine Spatial Plan to protect 20 per cent of local waters.

Sarah Brooks, the plan’s implementation manager, said it would not only protect the environment but have knock-on effects on everything from tourism to insurance.

She added: “We’ve already seen in Bermuda how long-term ocean management and ocean protection can benefit our country, especially when it comes to protecting areas that are important for recreation or the conservation of specific species that are important to the fishing sector.”

The proposed marine spatial plan is part of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme and is intended to safeguard ecologically critical zones such as reefs, seabeds and mangrove forests.

Ms Brooks said the marine spaces would act as reserves for marine life to recuperate and rebuild their populations.

She said that fish populations around Bermuda’s waters had declined over the decades, with fishermen reporting “fewer and weaker“ fish catches.

Ms Brooks added that die-offs in fish populations had already occurred around Bermuda, such as with the Nassau grouper.

She said that these changes in the ecosystem, whether they affected top predators or smaller prey animals, had knock-on effects that could lead to other populations dying.

Ms Brooks added: “The scientists who collected this data believe that predator population numbers are so low that it would only take a very small additional impact to cause these species to collapse.

“With the pressures of climate change, it’s all the more likely, because when population numbers are low, they become more vulnerable to environmental factors.”

Ms Brooks said that, by leaving pockets of marine environments untouched, fish populations could have spaces where they could grow and become healthier.

She said that the fishing industry would benefit from these larger, healthier fish populations and could even grow its economy.

Ms Brooks said that the abundance of fish would also benefit the tourism industry because a thriving marine environment made for enjoyable diving experiences.

The MSP proposition came at a time when global warming continued to have a serious impact on the world.

Ms Brooks explained that the average global temperature had risen by 2C in the past century.

She said that, while this amount might appear to be small, it led to problems such as an increase in more powerful storms, as well as a closer storm surge.

She said that global warming already put pressures on the environment and negatively affected fishing and tourism industries.

Ms Brooks added that these challenges, plus pressure on the insurance sectors that would pay out any damages, had the potential to cause vast economic strain.

Ms Brooks acknowledged that the benefits of the Marine Spatial Plan could take “a few generations” of fish to see the results.

However, she underlined the importance of the plan to protect Bermuda’s future.

She said: “Marine spatial planning doesn’t just look to protect a single species or work for a single stakeholder group.

“It’s a tool that is aimed at balancing the needs of the entire community, along with economic growth and the long-term needs of the environment.

“It’s a pathway towards achieving the Government’s long-term vision and that vision is of a healthy ocean with growing blue economies and a thriving community.”