Some of the most pristine ecosystems left in the world are found in the Pacific.
asserted
Some → leave → Pacific
These remote islands and atolls are biodiversity hot spots, home to thriving coral reefs …
… and bustling seabird colonies.
asserted
islands → thrive → reefs
More than a million square miles of the Pacific Ocean are safeguarded as U.S. marine national monuments and sanctuaries.
asserted
miles → safeguard → monuments
Now, the Trump administration is opening some of these waters to commercial fishing.
asserted
administration → open → fishing
Thousands of miles from California, the Pacific marine monuments are centered on tiny islands and atolls.
asserted
monuments → center → islands
One of them is Palmyra Atoll, about as far from a continent as you can get on the planet.
asserted
you → get → planet
No one lives here permanently, but it’s home to a field research station run by The Nature Conservancy, a conservation nonprofit.
asserted
it → live → Conservancy
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff also rotate in, since the atoll’s land is protected as a national wildlife refuge.
asserted
land → rotate → refuge
For the researchers and staff stationed here, some days their closest neighbors are the astronauts passing overhead in the International Space Station.
asserted
neighbors → station → Station
For decades, scientists have studied Palmyra Atoll’s unique ecosystem, a window into the vital role that atolls play for marine life across the Pacific.
asserted
atolls → study → Pacific
“Atolls are small when you look at them on the map, but they have an oversized impact on the ocean around them,” says Alex Wegmann, lead scientist of island resilience at The Nature Conservancy.
asserted
Wegmann → look → Conservancy
Atolls are formed by ancient volcanic islands surrounded by coral reefs.
asserted
Atolls → form → reefs
As the volcano erodes and disappears below the water, the reef continues to grow upward.
asserted
reef → erode → water
Eventually a ring of low-lying islands forms, built from the skeletons of the reef that surrounds it.
asserted
that → lie → it
For millennia, Pacific atolls were important stopover and cultural sites for Polynesians who crossed the Pacific Ocean on seafaring voyages.
asserted
who → cross → voyages
Colonial powers reshaped many atolls, removing native forests to plant fast-growing coconut palm plantations.
asserted
powers → reshape → plantations
Although many were abandoned, the palms continued to spread, crowding out native trees.
asserted
palms → abandon → trees
World War II brought even more changes.
asserted
II → bring → changes
As fighting in the Pacific escalated, the U.S. military remade many atolls, building bunkers, air bases and refueling stations.
asserted
military → escalate → bunkers
Ship channels were dredged through coral reefs.
asserted
channels → dredge → reefs
Some atolls were used for nuclear and biological weapons testing.
asserted
atolls → use → testing
Still, Pacific atolls remain among the wildest places on the planet.
asserted
atolls → remain → planet
Seabirds use them as nesting sites to raise their young, returning to the open ocean to hunt for fish.
asserted
Seabirds → use → fish
Sooty terns spend years at sea, flying thousands of miles before coming back to land to breed.
asserted
terns → spend → land
The reefs surrounding many atolls are still largely untouched, with coral colonies the size of city buses.
asserted
reefs → surround → buses
At Palmyra Atoll, blacktip and grey reef sharks cruise the reefs’ edges.
asserted
sharks → cruise → edges
Scientists have found it has one of the highest densities of predators in the world, a rare example of a food chain that remains intact.
asserted
that → find → chain
Pacific atolls also attract deep-water species that swim hundreds of miles, like tuna.
asserted
that → attract → tuna
In the warm, nutrient-poor waters of the central Pacific where food is sparse, atolls are like bustling cafés.
asserted
atolls → bustle → cafés
Scientists put satellite tags on yellowfin tuna, tracking where they swam for months, and found they congregate around atolls.
asserted
they → put → atolls
Seabirds rely on those tuna and other large predators to corral schools of small fish.
asserted
Seabirds → rely → fish
As tuna feed, they drive the schools near the ocean’s surface, where birds can reach them.
asserted
birds → feed → them
This interconnected ecosystem, stretching from treetops to the deep sea, is one of the reasons the waters around Pacific atolls were granted federal protections.
asserted
waters → stretch → protections
In January 2009, President George W. Bush established three national marine monuments in the Pacific.
asserted
Bush → establish → Pacific
In 2014, the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument was expanded.
asserted
Monument → expand → 2014
United
States
Japan
Papahānaumokuākea
Marine National Sanctuary
Mariana Trench
Marine
National Monument
Pacific Ocean
Hawaii
Wake
Atoll
Johnston
Atoll
Pacific Islands Heritage
Marine National Monument
Kingman Reef
and Palmyra Atoll
Howland
and Baker
Islands
Jarvis
Island
New
Guinea
Rose Atoll
Marine National Monument
Australia
1,000 miles
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was established in 2006 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
asserted
Monument → establish → Islands
Its boundaries were later expanded in 2016.
asserted
boundaries → expand → 2016
It is the largest fully protected conservation area in the United States.
asserted
It → protect → States
United
States
Japan
Papahānaumokuākea
Marine National Sanctuary
Mariana Trench
Marine
National Monument
Pacific Ocean
Hawaii
Wake
Atoll
Johnston
Atoll
Areas for
commercial fishing
Kingman Reef
and Palmyra Atoll
Howland
and Baker
Islands
Jarvis
Island
New
Guinea
Rose Atoll
Marine National Monument
Australia
1,000 miles
Last year, President Trump opened parts of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to allow commercial fishing beyond 57 miles from shore.
asserted
Trump → open → shore
After conservation groups sued, a judge ruled that the Trump administration must go through a full regulatory process to change the fishing rules.
asserted
administration → sue → rules
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
