A new ocean sanctuary the size of France
French Polynesia has granted its highest level of protection to around 520,000 square kilometres of the Pacific, an area the size of France where industrial fishing, bottom trawling and deep sea mining are off the table entirely. It creates one of the largest highly protected marine areas on Earth: a safe haven on a truly oceanic scale for the fish, corals, sharks and seabirds that call it home.
The sanctuary carries centuries of local wisdom onto the world stage: Polynesian communities have long practised rāhui, the traditional custom of setting areas aside to rest and replenish. And protection is generous: sanctuaries like this act as nurseries for the wider ocean, with fish populations recovering inside the boundaries and spilling over to support the fishers and communities beyond.