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Marine biologists have completed the first survey of the waters surrounding the remote Pitcairn islands in the Pacific, and called for its "immediate protection".

The international team of scientists, whose report was published in PLoS One, wrote that the marine life around the UK territory has "unique global value that is irreplaceable", and that it is "one of the least impacted in the Pacific".

The islands' position in the south Pacific, further from a continent than any other inhabited island, meant that they were uninhabited until being colonised in the 1700s by mutineers from the HMS Bounty. Around 50 of their descendants still live there today.

However it's remote location has also meant that both industrial exploitation and scientific exploration of the surrounding waters have been inhibited until now. The team's survey, which was performed in 2012, found healthy coral reefs and a profusion of fish, half of which are not found anywhere else in the world and several of which were previously unknown to science.

The clarity of the water was noted by the survey team, which reported that a type of coraline algae was found living at a depth of 382 metres - more than 100 metres deeper than the previous record. "It also allows coral reefs to grow to depths that are incredible elsewhere, we found well developed reefs between 75 and 100m below the surface," Enric Sala from the National Geographic Society told the BBC. "These islands are like a time machine, that allow us to get back hundreds of years to see what we have lost."

Most notably, the scientists found an abundance of top predators like sharks. These are key indicators of the health of ecosystems, and represented more than half the biomass at Ducie Atoll, one of the least disturbed locations. However, there was some evidence in other places of shark fishing being carried out by other countries, which is illegal.

The islanders have called for their territorial waters, which extend 200 km offshore, to become one of the world's biggest marine reserves. The suggestion is being considered by the British government.


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