The indigenous people of Easter Island, the Rapa Nui, are connected to the ocean. Women and men fish for their families, and gather shells to craft traditional jewelry and artwork. But what happens when fish stocks decline and plastic from other countries washes up on the Easter Island coast? The Rapa Nui formed Te Mau O Te Vaikava O Rapa Nui—the Mesa del Mar—an effort made up of prominent fishing, tourism, environmental, and cultural leaders, to determine the best ways to protect their ocean waters for future generations.
Narrated by Dr. Sylvia Earle, Voices from the Sea (Voces del mar) is a 40-minute documentary that tells the story of the Rapa Nui’s efforts to develop a proposal for one of the world’s largest protected areas of ocean.
On October 5, 2015, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced her government’s commitment to work with the Rapa Nui to establish the park. In addition to providing crucial environmental protections, the marine park will also enable the local community to continue centuries-old subsistence fishing practices within an area that extends 50 nautical miles from the shore.
More videos and facts on The Pew Charitable Trusts' Global Ocean Legacy project, which supported the Rapa Nui's efforts to establish the park: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/global-ocean-legacy