A scattered chain of Hawaiian islands today became the largest marine sanctuary in the world. Surpassing Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) will form part of a 140,000-square-mile (362,580-square-kilometer) protected area nearly the size of California.
The region is home to more than 7,000 marine species, about a quarter of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
The islands are also a breeding site for millions of seabirds and endangered animals, including the Hawaiian monk seal—one of the world's rarest marine mammals—and the Hawaiian green sea turtle.
National monument status gives the archipelago and its wildlife immediate protection and provides more protection than the national marine sanctuary designation many had expected.
The move will further restrict access to the remote region, and commercial and sportfishing will be phased out over five years.
Source: National Geographic
