President Obama Designates World’s Largest Marine Protected Area in Pacific Ocean

Coral at Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge, one of the areas protected under President Obama’s designation. (Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters / Flickr Creative Commons)

In a big move for the oceans, President Obama announced today that he’s creating the world’s largest marine protected area. The move expands the Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument by more than six times its original size from nearly 87,000 square miles to more than 490,000. The area will protect Johnston Atoll, Wake Atoll, and Jarvis Island, and keep them off-limits to activities such as commercial fishing and energy exploration.

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