August 11, 2013Dear Sir,Although it passed almost entirely unnoticed at the time, future generations will look back on the 11th of June 1996 as a very important date in Bermuda’s history. On that day we gained sovereign rights to our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) a territory of over 300,000 sq. kilometres and all the natural resources that go with it.To help put it in perspective our “New Ocean Territory” is larger than the land mass of the UK.While we may not have given our new territory much thought until recently, there is a group of highly intelligent, very persuasive people outside of Bermuda have thought about it a lot and who are trying to convince us that we should create a huge marine protected area (MPA) that would have the effect of eliminating commercial activity in over 80% of our EEZ.I have no doubt that they are sincere in their belief that they know what is best for us. They say it will revive our tourism industry and be good for future generations of Bermudians but I am not so sure it would be wise to put all our eggs in one basket.Pacific Island nations rich in unexploited deep sea minerals are facing many of the same challenges we do as we move to develop a strategic plan for the management our EEZ. In the Pacific, the EU is funding wide ranging stakeholder consultation and workshops focused on improving the governance and management of ocean resources, establishing robust legal frameworks, increasing technical capacity and building effective monitoring systems in preparation for the task of managing their vast resource rich EEZs.It is not just about the economy any more. As we develop the economic potential of our ocean resources we need to do it in an environmentally responsible way that shares the benefit equitably across a broad spectrum of the community.Lockheed Martin (the giant research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and servicescompany) in partnership with the UK Government have paid half a million dollars for a tenement in the Pacific that is the same depth as most of our EEZ. I can’t imagine they would be doing that if deep sea mining is not likely to be feasible soon. In Namibia’s EEZ five companies running nine ships are mining diamonds at depths to 200 meters and generating 25% of national earnings. Ask yourselves: what state would the North Dakota economy be in today if 10 years ago research, development and exploration of the oil shale prospect was discouraged and deemed to have no value because technology to extract it did not exist.The European Commission’s Action Plan for a Maritime Strategy in the Atlantic predicts that the “Blue Economy” has the potential to provide 7 million jobs in Europe by 2020. The plan sets out priorities for research and investment to drive this “Blue Growth”. Action points include marine mining, marine biotechnology, offshore renewable energy, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. As in Europe, research and investment will be the key to driving growth in Bermuda’s maritime sector.When I think of our young people, what I am concerned about most is the staggering debt my generation has burdened them with.The discovery of a single extinct ultramafic-hosted vent field or a scree deposit of platinum and silver enriched polymetalic crust would wipe that debt off the books. When we resolve the discrepancies (possibly due to high iron content) between the ICP chemical and X-Ray Diffraction sample analysis results for Hollis Point and if they favour the higher value we can deliver an NI 43-101 technical report and transform rocks on the sea bed to “in-ground assets” on the balance sheet that will raise Bermuda’s credit rating and lower the interest rate we pay on the national debt. These potential benefits are too important to dismiss.The problem with privileging the environment over economic and social development is that it stifles private sector investment. If we are to make the intelligent choices necessary to provide the broadest possible benefit across the community from our new ocean territory we are going to need a lot more information than we have now. The required exploration alone is set to become a growth industry in its own right and the only feasible way to get the results we need is through a collaborative effort between Government, science and industry.It should go without saying that conservation will play a critical role the management of our EEZ but given the potential for economic and social development we need to balance it carefully with our economic and social requirements.Nick HutchingsChairmanOcean Projects Limited