A global online activist network has launched a campaign to get the Bermuda Government to implement the “Blue Halo” proposal to turn the sea around the Island into a protected environmental zone.

Avaaz.org says on its website: “Bermuda is on the verge of creating the biggest ocean sanctuary in the Atlantic but the government seems to be stalling. There’s overwhelming public support for the Blue Halo and it’s now time for them to act. Let’s flood the Premier’s office with a wave of messages he can’t ignore.”

The organisation, which claims to have had campaign victories all around the world, suggests that Blue Halo supporters write to Craig Cannonier, copying in Sustainable Development director Charles Brown, to ask why the One Bermuda Alliance hasn’t acted on “this reserve that was promised in your election platform”.

It suggests letter writers ask for the full results of the public consultation into the scheme to be released, and explain how such a marine reserve would benefit tourism and jobs.

The website provides a form for users to fill in with their own letter and advises: “The more personal, the better.”

The Bermuda Blue Halo scheme proposes turning much of the sea within a 200-mile radius of the Island — covering an area the size of the British Isles and encompassing about 180,000 square miles of ocean — into a “no take” zone, severely limiting all activity there.

Environmentalists, backed by the US non-profit organisation Pew Charitable Trusts, say it would preserve the ocean environment and protect the habitat and species within, as well as giving Bermuda the opportunity to lucratively market itself as an ecotourist destination.

But the idea has its opponents, including former Premier David Saul, who claims it would be economically detrimental to the Island as it would prevent mineral mining on the sea bed, and local fishermen, who have warned it could be a “noose” for the fishing industry.

The Avaaz campaign follows the launch of a local petition earlier this month by Blue Halo director Chris Flook, also calling on Government to stick to its campaign promise for a marine reserve.

Mr Flook said yesterday he wasn’t sure what prompted Avaaz to launch its campaign but added that organisations around the world had been watching the Island with interest in relation to Blue Halo.

“People have thought ‘hey, look, this is a little country standing up to do something right’,” he said, adding that Government should keep the scheme on the front burner.

“We have had so much bad press from greaseballs and other issues. This would be a really good way to put a good light back on Bermuda. We have got a tourism season starting and all we have had so far is not good press. This would be a good way to change that.”

Mr Flook said his petition had about 30 signatures so far but he hoped many other businesses would get on board and pledge their commitment to protect the outer rim of Bermuda’s exclusive economic zone.

Avaaz, which was founded in 2007, claims to have more than 35 million members in 149 countries. Its website says that last year alone it saved fin whales from butchery, a Maldivian teenage rape victim from flogging, and a Maasai community from being evicted from its land.

Bermudian environmentalist Lisa Vickers, a global campaigner for Avaaz, has led protests here against the opening of a dolphin park and the development of Southlands.

She previously worked for Greenpeace and now lives in Amsterdam.

Last night she told The Royal Gazette she’d originally run an Avaaz petition on Blue Halo last year, as well as attending public meetings on the initiative.

“We have started working on this issue as our members are very interested in protecting the oceans, especially through the implementation of marine reserves,” Ms Vickers said.

“Pressure from hundreds of thousands of Avaaz members was key to the creation of the marine reserve in the Chagos Islands and Australia’s marine reserve in the Coral Sea, so we have already been involved in the creation of massive ocean sanctuaries.

“We have over 1,000 members in Bermuda and given that Bermuda is the next place where one of the world’s largest marine reserves could be created we have decided to focus some attention on the issue. It’s a fortunate coincidence that I am also Bermudian and the point person at Avaaz for all oceans campaigns.”

Government said on April 10 that the results of the public consultation on Blue Halo were still being reviewed and would go before Cabinet soon.