French Polynesia has announced the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area.
Speaking on the first day of the United Nations Ocean Conference in France, French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson said the MPA will cover the territory’s entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or 4.8 million square kilometers (roughly 1.9 million square miles).
“We have been managing this EEZ wisely for centuries, using the techniques that were passed on from the generations before us and our ancestors,” Brotherson told Time.
The MPA will include 1.086 million km2 (nearly 420,000 mi2) of highly or fully protected ocean, an area twice the size of mainland France. Of this, some 900,000 km2 (about 350,000 mi2) will be fully protected: 220,000 square kilometers (85,000 square miles) located near the Society Islands and 680,000 km2 (263,000 mi2) near the Gambier Islands. In these areas, no extractive fishing or mining will be allowed. About 186,000 km2 (72,000 mi2) will be an artisanal fishing zone, only allowing traditional line fishing. The rest of the EEZ will be under less stringent protection but will “restrict extractive practices like deep-sea mining and bottom-trawling,” Time reported.
Brotherson added that another 500,000 km2 (about 193,000 mi2) will be turned into highly protected area by World Ocean Day 2026.
“This level of ambition is what the world needs to help turn the tide back in favour of a healthy and productive ocean,” Razan Al Mubarak, president of the IUCN, the global conservation authority, said in a statement. She lauded the move, saying she hopes “this sets a new trend in the establishment of large scale highly protected MPAs.”
According to the IUCN statement, Brotherson said earlier in the week that French Polynesia will strengthen its fisheries management plans, include public participation, and ban deep-sea mining and the use of fish-aggregating devices (FAD) by fishers.
“These waters are teeming with life — sharks, whales, sea turtles, and coral reefs that are among the healthiest ever studied,” M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International, said in a statement. “For the people of French Polynesia, the ocean is everything: it sustains livelihoods, nourishes communities, and anchors cultural identity. Protecting it means safeguarding a way of life — and offering the world a powerful example of bold ocean leadership.
Earlier this year, a survey of 1,378 French Polynesians found that 92% support the creation of new protected areas, which the respondents saw as a way of respecting their cultural values and drawing inspiration from their traditional management practices.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged his government’s support in monitoring the newly announced MPA. State broadcaster RFI reported that the proportion of French waters under protection or with restricted activities has now increased to 78%.
Recently, the Samoan government established nine MPAs, equivalent to 30% of the country’s ocean territory, covering habitats of several threatened species, including the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
Banner image of the waters around Maupiti Island in French Polynesia by Sophie Hurel via Wikimedia Commons (CCBY3.0).
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