What a trip to the far-flung Pitcairn islands taught me about protecting our oceans

Like many Britons, I have always been vaguely aware of the existence of a place known as the Pitcairn Islands. I would have struggled to tell it on a map, let alone name which ocean it was in. But I’ve just been there. It’s a British overseas territory in the South Pacific, a four-day journey from Tahiti and more than 500km from the nearest inhabited island – and the epic journey was worth it.

Pitcairn’s history is fascinating. It was the final destination of some of the Bounty Rebels in 1790 and most…