The Marine and Fisheries Conservation Section (MFCS), guided by the Marine Management Plan 2023–27 (MMP), works to conserve, protect and restore the rich biodiversity and unique ecosystems of St Helena’s Marine Protected Area (MPA). Natural resources are managed in line with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category 6 sustainable use principles for the benefit of current and future generations.

The MMP sets out a five-year vision to protect St Helena’s marine environment while promoting responsible use, economic growth and community involvement. Progress is reviewed each year through a Marine Management Plan Annual Report. In 2024, an international review tool confirmed strong foundations in planning, staffing and community support, with St Helena scoring over 75%.

Funding from the St Helena Government (SHG) and the Blue Belt Programme supports all of the MFCS work in fisheries, Environmental monitoring, and Community outreach. This includes sustainable fisheries management through stock assessments, tagging programmes, and analysis of logbook data in partnership with the Marine Compliance and Enforcement Section (MC&E), as well as long-term environmental monitoring of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions in St Helena’s surrounding waters. Community initiatives encourage marine tour operators to gain environmental accreditation, invite the public to report marine sightings, and use social media and awareness campaigns to educate and involve the local community.

These efforts are helping to build a stronger understanding of local biodiversity and how best to protect it while working closely with the community.

In 2023, St Helena’s MPA was recognised as a Hope Spot. This recognition honoured St Helena’s efforts to safeguard our surrounding ocean. This also means that St Helena now joins a global ocean network of 156 Hope Spots around the world, stretching from Antarctica to the Arctic, and also includes our sister island Ascension.

To stay informed about the section’s current work, the Quarterly Catch newsletter shares updates on ongoing projects and achievements within St Helena’s MPA.

Contact Details
Marine and Fisheries Conservation Section
Nature Conservation Division
Environment, Natural Resources and Planning Portfolio
Tel: +(290) 25966       Email: marine@helanta.co.sh
The Marine Centre, The Wharf, Jamestown, St Helena Island, STHL 1ZZ

Ongoing scientific work

Studying Fish Habitats Around St Helena Using Underwater Cameras
Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems, known as BRUVS, are underwater cameras that use bait to attract fish and record their behaviour. They are deployed around St Helena to observe how semi-pelagic species, which live partly in open water and partly near the seabed, use pinnacles, steep underwater rock formations that provide important habitats, as well as other areas. This research provides insight into the pressures these species face from human activities and supports efforts to protect marine life.

Lobster Research, Tagging and Management Around St Helena
On St Helena, two lobster species are commercially important. The brown spiny lobster, known locally as crayfish (Panulirus echinatus), found at depths of 0 to 35 metres. The endemic red slipper lobster, called stump (Scyllarides obtusus), occurs at depths of 9 to 75 metres. Both species are nocturnal.

A long-term monitoring programme began in 2018 under the Darwin Plus project DPLUS077: Sustainable fishery management for St Helena’s lobster populations, aiming to improve knowledge, fill data gaps, and guide sustainable management of St Helena’s lobster populations.The programme was revived in 2024 with the support of the Blue Belt Programme, tracking lobster abundance, habitat, movement, and growth to support current management measures.

Monitoring includes SCUBA dive surveys during the breeding seasons in November, January, and March to assess lobster abundance and habitat distribution, tagging individuals for mark-and-recapture studies, and collecting and recording biometric data. Potting surveys are also conducted, with all lobsters caught, tagged, and measured.

The local fishing industry and community play a role by returning tags found on caught lobsters to the MFCS, which is essential for continuing the research and monitoring of the species.


Tuna Research, Tagging and Management Around St Helena
Yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tuna are important species for St Helena’s commercial and recreational fisheries. Research on tuna began in 2015 through a Darwin Plus project, DPLUS039: Sustainable development and management of St Helena fisheries and marine tourism. This work showed that yellowfin tuna remain in local waters for many months, providing crucial information for developing sustainable management measures.

Since 2018, the Blue Belt Programme has supported further research with expertise from the  Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). Projects have tracked the habitat use, movements, and retention time of yellowfin and bigeye tuna, while also studying their diet to better understand pelagic biodiversity.

In 2018, St Helena joined the Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Programme (AOTTP), funded by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). Over 5800 tags were deployed on yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tuna, including dart, satellite, and internal data storage tags. Recaptured tags have provided data on growth rates, natural mortality, exploitation rates, migration, and stock structure to support stock assessments.

CEFAS produced a report reviewing the status of St Helena’s tuna fishery and provided management advice. Research continues under the Blue Belt Programme with ongoing tagging and bio-sampling to ensure sustainable management of tuna in St Helena’s waters and surrounding seamounts.

The local fishing industry has been essential in deploying and recapturing tags. Continued cooperation supports sustainable tuna management, with current tagging and sampling by local fishers contributing to advisory reports.


Grouper Research, Tagging and Management Around St Helena
The rock hind grouper (Epinephelus adscensionis), locally known as jack, is a commercially important species found in shallow waters around St Helena, Ascension, and the tropical western Atlantic. Groupers begin life as females and change to males at around five to eight years of age.

Research on grouper began with a project from 2005 to 2007, which studied the species and recommended management measures, including a minimum landing size. To continue this work, a grouper tagging project was then established under the Blue Belt Programme in 2018 and is still ongoing. The MFCS continues to collect data on population status, growth, reproduction, movement, and habitat use. The data captured through tag and recapture helps set sustainable catch limits and informs management measures to sustain the fish stock.

Using data from the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) and Blue Belt supported projects, CEFAS produced a report that provides scientific advice to support government policy and the sustainable management of grouper. Research continues with ongoing tagging and bio-sampling.

The local fishing industry and community play a role by returning tags found on caught grouper to the MFCS, which is essential for continuing the research and monitoring the species.


Ichthyoplankton Research and Monitoring Around St Helena
Ichthyoplankton, a type of zooplankton, are the eggs and larval stages of fish that drift through the water column. To collect samples, a plankton net is lowered into the water at locations around the island. At the same locations, a CTD device is also deployed to measure salinity, temperature, and depth, which helps  to understand the water conditions. Together, these methods allow the eggs and larvae to be gathered and studied for this research.

This research is important because it provides reliable information on the number and types of small organisms at the base of the food chain, helping the MFCS understand the overall health and productivity of the marine ecosystem.The programme also supports monitoring of key species, improves data on adult fish for stock assessments, and establishes long-term zooplankton monitoring. It can also indicate the timing of spawning for commercially important fish and detect environmental factors that may affect fish populations.


Fisheries Observer Programme in St Helena
The MFCS aims to uphold ICCAT’s recommendation of five percent observer coverage by placing one observer on a fishing vessel each week to continue monitoring fisheries.

This work involves fisheries observers going on fishing vessels to record information about fishing activities, including the types and amounts of fish caught. This helps monitor fisheries and support sustainable management of marine resources.


Open-ocean Research and Monitoring Around St Helena
The St Helena Open-ocean Time-Series (SHOTS) was developed from the two-year Darwin-funded project, DPLUS070: Oceanographic Influences on the St Helena Pelagic Ecosystem, to monitor seasonal changes in the waters around St Helena and support understanding of the marine environment.

During the project, six sites around the island were studied. At each site, a CTD device was lowered into the water to measure salinity, temperature, and depth to understand the water conditions. Zooplankton samples were also collected at each site to study the local marine life.

One offshore site, Dawsons, was chosen for long-term monitoring because it is representative of the island’s surrounding waters. Monitoring this site helps track changes in the ocean over time and supports sustainable management of St Helena’s marine ecosystem.


Underwater Visual Census Monitoring Around St Helena
Underwater Visual Census (UVC) is a method where trained divers observe and record fish and invertebrate species in the water. Since 2013, the MFCS has used UVC, alongside photo quadrats, which are underwater photographs of small sections of the seafloor, to monitor the nearshore marine environment. These methods help the MFCS to understand which species are present, how many there are, and the condition of the habitat over a long period of time.


Baseline Oceanographic Monitoring Around St Helena
This project collects baseline oceanographic data to assess what are considered normal conditions for St Helena’s MPA and to understand the impacts of run-off caused by heavy rain.

Monitoring is carried out by deploying equipment around the island to measure dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature. A CTD device is also deployed at these sites to collect detailed information on salinity, temperature, and depth.

Monitoring Semi-Pelagic Fish Movements Around St Helena Using Acoustic and Video Survey Methods
The MFCS studied the movement of semi-pelagic species, which was achieved using acoustic telemetry, a method that tracks fish by recording signals from tags attached to them. An array of 10 acoustic receivers were positioned around the island to capture movement data. The study worked in partnership with the BRUVS project to identify the habitats these fish use within St Helena’s MPA. Tagging for this study was completed in 2024, with 12 tags deployed. Data has been returned from three tags, leaving nine active tags in the surrounding MPA. The acoustic receiver array has been collected, and all data is currently being analysed to better understand the movement and habitat use of these species.

Completed/Archived Projects

Seabird project

  • Core work
    • Biological data collection
      • Stable isotopes
        • Between 2013-2019 feather samples were collected for their use in dietary analysis from five seabird species on St Helena; band rumped storm petrels (Hydrobates castro), red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), masked boobies (Sula dactylatra), sooty terns (Onychopion fuscatus), black noddy (Anous minutus) and brown noddy (Anous stolidus).
      • Blood
        • Blood samples were collected from breeding band rumped storm petrels and roosting red-billed tropic birds. Samples that were collected were used to examine genetic structure.
    • Colony/distribution monitoring and Nesting
      • Initial monthly colony monitoring research was collected from 2009-2019 around Shore Island, Great Stone Top and the Lots Wife, Sandy Bay area. To establish an observational baseline for seabird populations on the island.
      • Nest monitoring was conducted from 2009-2021 to monitor the nest success and productivity of three seabirds; band-rumped storm petrels, red-billed tropic birds and masked boobies.
    • Mark recapture
      • In 2007-2021, mark and recapture study (under the St Helena Ringing Scheme) was done on the eight seabirds found on island. This study allowed estimations on longevity and survival, and tracking. Additionally, during the study morphometric data, age and sex data was also collected. 
  • DPLUS018 – Taxonomic and conservation status of storm petrels Hydrobates castro in the South Atlantic. This project aimed to clarify whether storm petrels nesting on St Helena and Ascension are the same species that occurs elsewhere in the Atlantic or whether they constitute one or more species to science.
  • Enterprise St Helena
    • Cavity attendance – Cavity activity was monitored using a combination of physical observation and infrared motion sensor cameras from 2013-2018. All Red-billed tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus) found using the cavities were identified through ringing and the activity was recorded e.g. nesting, roosting or on territory.
    • Predator trapping – Routine mammalian predator trapping was completed during annual Red-billed tropicbird monitoring and tracking from August to December 2014-2016.
  • OTEP
    • Monitoring surveys –  Nine, six monthly seabird surveys were conducted by boat between 2004-2011. The total number of adult seabirds seen around St Helena’s coastline, including birds in flight during each survey were tallied by a minimum of two surveyors to provide an estimate of species abundance.

Whale shark Project

  • DPLUS070 – Oceanographic influences on the St Helena pelagic ecosystem. This project established a basic understanding of the seasonal operation of pelagic ecosystems that underpins St Helena fisheries and tourism industries and evaluated how oceanography influences that system.

Marine Apprentice’s RRS Discovery Voyage

Education and Outreach

Social Media

Public awareness is vital to deepening our collective understanding of the importance of the marine environment. For the local community, the ocean is more than just a natural resource, it is a way of life, a source of income, and an important part of community identity. Protecting it is not only essential for the island’s ecological well-being, but also for preserving the livelihoods and heritage of our community.

The MFCS team raises awareness through social media and local platforms such as newspapers and radio stations. By sharing regular updates on scientific findings, ongoing projects, and key reports, the team helps ensure that the community remains informed and engaged.

Stay connected and informed by following St Helena MPA on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Marine Awareness Week

Since its first launch in 2003, Marine Awareness Week has been held annually, with each year featuring a unique and engaging theme, aiming to promote a deeper understanding of our marine environment among the general public, including students from both primary and secondary schools.

Throughout the week, the MFCS team delivers theme-based presentations, informative displays, and a range of engaging marine-related activities. These include interactive games, quizzes, themed fancy dress events, and even disco nights, designed to both educate and inspire participants of all ages to appreciate and protect our ocean and its diverse ecosystems.

Marine Tourism

Marine Tour Operator Accreditation Scheme
In June 2023 a new marine regulation was introduced that created the concept of regulated activities within the MPA. This regulation requires marine tour operators to obtain a licence in order to conduct or facilitate certain activities.

To support this, the Marine Tour Operator Environmental Accreditation Certification Scheme was created. The training programme is designed to build environmental awareness among local marine tour operators and focuses on safeguarding marine habitats along with the plants and animals that live there. The training is delivered in-house by certified MFCS trainers to ensure a high standard of operation.

For anyone wishing to observe marine wildlife on St Helena, they are encouraged to use accredited marine tour operators as they have been trained to conduct tours responsibly, helping to protect the marine environment while ensuring a safe and sustainable experience.

Marine Sightings

iRecord St Helena
In 2004, as part of an OTEP project called Establishment of a Monitoring Scheme and Awareness Programme for Seabirds and Turtles at St Helena, the public was invited to help track marine life by reporting their sightings.

Sightings can include turtles, dolphins and whales, sharks, rays, unusual birds, fish, and other marine creatures.

Anyone who spots marine life can share their observations with the MCFS, including:

  • The date of the sighting
  • The species observed
  • How many were seen
  • The location
  • Who saw it

Sightings can now be added directly to iRecord St Helena via the app and the website.

MMP Annual Report

Quarterly Catch

Links

Past Projects