French Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut announced, on the occasion of World Oceans Day and the opening of the Neptune Forum in Paris, the creation of a « strong protection » area in the Bay of Audierne, Brittany, and marine protected areas in Guadeloupe and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. The President of French Polynesia also announced the strengthening of protection in 500,000 km² of the world’s largest marine protected area.
French Biodiversity Minister Monique Barbut announced on Monday, June 8, at the opening of the Neptune forum, which aims to be the Davos of ocean exploration
, the creation of new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Bay of Audierne, in Brittany, in Guadeloupe and in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF).
These three strong protection
areas , announced by the minister in the presence of the Minister of the Sea, Catherine Chabaud, will bring to 14.68% the share of French maritime waters placed under this status prohibiting or strictly limiting anthropogenic pressures – with a target of 14.8% coverage by the end of the year, recalls AFP .
In detail, a 0.9 million km2 “sanctuary” is planned in the TAAF, in an area where the seabed is more than 2,500 meters deep; an 8.42 km2 area of the Petite-Terre reserve will be closed to recreational fishing in Guadeloupe; and a 0.09 km2 coastal area in the Bay of Audierne in Brittany will be off-limits to “dogs and cars”, says the Minister of the Sea, “during the nesting period” of the Kentish plover, a protected bird.
The Neptune forum is organised one year after the United Nations conference on the oceans in Nice, which gave a boost to the ratification of the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ), which finally entered into force on 17 January 2026, and which allows the holding of the first COP of the ocean scheduled for 11 January 2027, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Strengthening protection in Polynesia
At the same time, French Polynesia, home to the world’s largest marine protected area, Tainui Atea, will increase its marine areas under the highest level of protection to 1.6 million square kilometers, its president, Moetai Brotherson, told AFP . » It ‘s our mission as Pacific Islanders. And we also hope that it can inspire other countries, especially the larger ones, in how they manage their relationship with the ocean
, » said Brotherson.
Since 2025, the entire Polynesian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) , approximately 4.8 million km² , has been classified as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Of this, 1.1 million km² previously benefited from the highest level of protection (categories 1 and 2), a figure that has now been increased to 1.6 million km² . » We are going to add two new MPAs, one northeast of the Marquesas Islands and the second south of the Austral Islands, which will increase the total area of category 1 and 2 MPAs by half a million km² ,
» the president explained to AFP .
Commercial fishing is prohibited in these strictly protected areas, which has raised concerns among Polynesian shipowners and fishermen. Speaking to AFP , Moetai Brotherson sought to reassure them, pointing out that fishing volumes in Polynesia have increased since the establishment of the first MPAs, while remaining reasonable and sustainable
.
The control, a drawback noted by Starfish
The Polynesian president also lamented the lack of funding from the French state. Since the UNOC, the only ones putting money into the monitoring of MPAs are either Polynesia itself or NGOs
, which have raised $15 million, he said.
He deemed the surveillance of this area, which France protects with a multi-mission patrol boat and soon a second one, insufficient .
« We are asking the State, at the very least, to participate in the discussions and to define with us the additional resources that need to be deployed
, » he declared.
Monitoring these areas is indeed a prerequisite for the effectiveness of these measures. The second edition of the global ocean health
report , the Starfish barometer, estimates that 67% of industrial fishing vessels operating in marine protected areas escape any monitoring, reducing the proportion of the ocean currently considered highly or fully protected to just 3.2% globally. It also highlights that the decline in observation systems, linked to a significant decrease in research investment since the COVID-19 pandemic and to political decisions detrimental to science, is weakening global monitoring and international cooperation.
source : le marin
