April 21, 2023 — NOAA has started the process to designate a massive area in the Pacific Ocean a marine sanctuary, following up on a proposal by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
The proposal, made in late March, would create a new marine sanctuary using the National Marine Sanctuaries Act around the Pacific Remote Islands area, a set of islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The proposal would include the existing Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and currently unprotected areas of land and water, covering the full extent of the U.S.’s exclusive economic zone.