Government is cracking down on scientific research done under the banner of the biostation after two recent projects swept away genetic material from local waters without benefiting the Island at all.

One project run by a company called Diversa collected a protein from Bermuda coral which it is now marketing as a biotechnology tool.

The other which has drawn Government's ire is a high-profile project of Dr. Craig Venter - a world famous scientist whose past work sped the Human Genome Project to a rapid conclusion.

Dr. Venter collected organisms from the Sargasso Sea in his search for an organism which could convert carbon dioxide into a clean fuel source.

The massive project received a $9 million grant from the US department of energy, and has already collected and genetically decoded 1,800 new species - finding 1.2 million previously unknown genes.

But the Bermuda Government, like many around the world, is now waking up to the possibility that genetic material can be taken and used for commercial gain without passing on a penny to the Island.

Both research projects worked in affiliation with the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) using a decades-old biological specimen collection permit the biostation holds as permission to carry out their work.

As such Government was only minimally aware of what was taking place in its waters.

But that is set to change, Director of Conservation Services Jack Ward told The Royal Gazette.

Government will be revoking the biostation's all encompassing permit and will begin negotiating deals with research teams directly to ensure Bermuda gets a legitimate share of any financial gains earned from its genetic resources.

"We want to be involved through the entire process," Mr. Ward said.

The move was reported in the science magazine Nature last month, which said that Government was revoking the biostation's permit and would replace it with a stricter one this month, but Mr. Ward called that report "highly erroneous".

Mr. Ward and biostation chief Dr. Tony Knap have since written a letter to the magazine clarifying their position.

Mr. Ward said the biostation's permit remains in place and the Government has no issue with any legitimate collection for scientific purposes.

But the permit will be tightened up to ensure that any research with potential commercial spin-offs from Bermuda's genetic material makes some provisions for the Island.

"They will have a collection permit but it will specifically exclude things of a specific nature dealing with genetic resources," he said.

Bermuda is signing on to the Convention on Biological Diversity and will be working with an overseas expert to develop a policy to protect its biological wealth.

"The reason for the convention being signed in the first place was to ensure compensation where appropriate to countries for any product developed from their genetic resources," Mr. Ward said.

While Bermuda was set to reap no benefit from the Diversa product - although the biostation had ensured it got a one percent royalty - Mr. Ward said the company has since set up a fund to benefit Bermuda students.

In the collection of the protein, the company would have destroyed the coral it was harvested from, despite the fact coral is a protected species, he added.

But the Venter project was more controversial and complicated.

He was collecting specimens in the Sargasso Sea, which technically falls under Bermuda's jurisdiction under the International Law of the Sea.

Countries have exclusive economic zone rights to everything with 200 nautical miles of their shores.

But the provision is almost impossible to enforce and Bermuda certainly has no capacity to Police its waters.

Making a claim on resources Dr. Venter collected would be further complicated as the material was simply passing in free moving ocean, Mr. Ward said.

Where it originated and where it ends up are impossible to prove. Additionally, Dr. Venter - who became unfathomably wealthy through his human genome work - claims his project is not for profit.

Although, if successful in his ultimate goal of finding a clean fuel source, the economic potential is limitless.

Additionally, the organisms Dr. Venter's team collects are genetically decoded and then all the information is put into the public domain.

In theory anyone could draw on that data, gleaned from local organisms, to create any number of profit-generating products.

"Bermuda has no further control over it all," Mr. Ward said.

But to crackdown on Dr. Venter, Government would face an impossible task.

"He basically came in and was opportunistic," Mr. Ward said. "He took the samples and ran his processes."

Dr. Venter is conducting similar projects around the world but Mr. Ward said the work would not happen the same way in Bermuda again.

Building a policy to protect the Island is thorny, however. "There is no model which we could follow," said Mr. Ward. "Every country is struggling with this at the moment because things are changing so fast."

Mr. Ward said Government would look to establish a financial provision that would benefit Bermuda but not deter scientific research.

Government could ask for anything from 1.5 percent to 15 percent - "which is what the Australians are trying to ask for" - of potential profits gleaned from its biological wealth.

But he does not fault either Diversa or Dr. Venter for the work they did.

"We should have been more proactive," he said.

Until a new policy is fleshed out, however, procedures remain in a "grey area".

"Right now, because the permit is in place, there would be nothing to say anything they would do would be illegal," Mr. Ward said of future research projects which might take place.

"I would think that Dr. Knap would be sensitive and say 'let's talk' though."