Marine Reserve Memorial Proposed

Sir Peter Blake's death in Amazonia is a huge loss to the global environment as well as to his family and to sailing says Cath Wallace, co-chair of the Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand, ECO. He will be mourned in many circles and we have lost a national hero.

"Blake's work to focus attention on water quality and to protect the sea was sorely needed. It remains a major priority and New Zealanders can all contribute to his legacy.

"We can all take Sir Peter's message into our lives. We can blow the whistle on pollution and damaging farming and forestry practises that hurt water quality and defend the Resource Management Act against attacks.

"We can support the government's Oceans Policy reform and press for the public to have input to decision making.

"Most of all, we can challenge destructive fishing methods such as trawling and the damage that these methods do to the corals and other life on the seamounts.

"It would be a fitting memorial to Sir Peter Blake to have a major network of marine reserves dedicated to him. It could be our equivalent of the red socks campaign to show in a tangible way the legacy from him.

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