WASHINGTON, D.C. — An area covering over two million square miles of the western Pacific Ocean, two-thirds of the land area of the United States, is slated to become the world’s largest shark sanctuary and the first one ever created through a regional agreement among governments.
Leaders at last week’s 15th Micronesian Chief Executive Summit passed a resolution (PDF) to begin the process of creating a regional sanctuary where shark fishing would be prohibited. The agreement, which also authorizes the development of a regional ban on the possession, sale and trade of shark fins, covers the waters of the Federated States of Micronesia and its four member States, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. Read the full story