Dear Sir,

As a charter boat operator, the health of Bermuda's ocean isn't an abstract environmental issue to me — — it's my business. I've built my livelihood on these waters and I hear directly from visitors every day about what they want from Bermuda's marine environment.

More and more I hear the same question: “Where are all the fish?”

They're not imagining it. I've watched fish populations decline since my days fishing in the Eighties and Nineties. I've seen nursery habitats disappear and storms become more destructive. Anyone who spends enough time on the water can see that our marine environment is under pressure.

For seven years the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme has been working on a solution. Studies, consultations, meetings, planning, drafting, redrafting. The result is something really special. The science is clear. The public have contributed thousands of hours in consultation. Yet we're still waiting for action.

Many, if not most charter guests want to visit the Vixen. Why? Because there are fish there. It is a protected area and the fish are abundant. The look on the tourists’ eyes when they see and encounter all those fish and marine life is one of joy and excitement.

Visitors aren't asking for more infrastructure development. They want to see marine life. They want healthy reefs. They want the kind of experience that makes Bermuda special. They go home and tell all their friends what they saw. We want them to talk about the marine environment and how special it is.

We know what marine protected areas have done elsewhere. Places that once faced collapsing fisheries and barren reefs became world-class eco-tourism destinations. Fish returned. Marine life flourished. Fishing numbers increased. Tourism benefited. Apo Islands in the Philippines is a prime example.

Bermuda has an opportunity to do the same.

Marine protected areas aren't just about conservation. They're about protecting one of our greatest economic assets. They are designed to increase tourism and fishing and Bermuda's future.

The frustrating part is that we're not debating a new idea. The work has already been done. All we need is to enact it.

How much longer?

Bermuda has an opportunity to become one of the world's greatest ocean destinations. But visitors don't spend thousands of dollars to come here and look at empty reefs.

They come to see life.

One day our children and grandchildren will ask what we did when we saw the decline happening. I hope we have a better answer than 'we kept talking about it’.

MARK WHEDDON

Pembroke