{"id":56431,"date":"2025-01-29T22:52:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T22:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/a-new-marine-protected-area-in-the-marshall-islands-is-brimming-with-life-like-a-time-machine-to-oceans-long-ago\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T22:52:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T22:52:58","slug":"a-new-marine-protected-area-in-the-marshall-islands-is-brimming-with-life-like-a-time-machine-to-oceans-long-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=56431","title":{"rendered":"A New Marine Protected Area in the Marshall Islands Is Brimming With Life, Like a ‘Time Machine’ to Oceans Long Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Reef sharks are abundant in the new marine proteted area.
\n Enric Sala \/ National Geographic Pristine Seas<\/span>
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A region of the Pacific Ocean that\u2019s larger than Switzerland is now fully protected from fishing, thanks to the creation of a massive new marine sanctuary in the Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n

The Marshall Islands<\/a> are located in the west-central Pacific Ocean, between the Philippines, Hawaii and French Polynesia<\/a>. The new marine protected area spans 18,500 square miles of water surrounding two remote, northern atolls, called Bikar and Bokak.<\/p>\n

\u201cBikar and Bokak\u2019s coral reefs are a time machine, like diving in the ocean of 1,000 years ago,\u201d says Enric Sala<\/a>, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas, in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThey are our best baselines for what the ocean could look like if we truly let it be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The atolls, which are uninhabited, are \u201cflourishing with life,\u201d says Whitney Goodell<\/a>, a marine ecologist at National Geographic Pristine Seas, to BBC Wildlife<\/em> <\/em>m<\/em>agazine<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Melissa Hobson.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re brimming with seabirds, deep-sea sharks, giant clams, fish and coral\u2014including endangered bristle-thighed curlew birds and vulnerable Napoleon wrasse fish. They also host a large green sea turtle<\/a> nesting colony and a group of bumphead parrotfish, a type of fish that\u2019s important for coral reef health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The atolls are home to steephead parrotfish (Chlorurus microrhinos<\/em>) and many other types of marine creatures.<\/p>\n

Enric Sala \/ National Geographic Pristine Seas<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

National Geographic Pristine Seas<\/a> is an initiative that promotes the creation of new marine protected areas in collaboration with Indigenous and local communities. Since launching in 2008, the project has helped establish 29 marine sanctuary areas spanning more than two million square miles.<\/p>\n

In 2023, researchers with National Geographic Pristine Seas and the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority completed an exploratory expedition to the atolls to learn more about the creatures living up to 7,677 feet beneath the ocean\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

They made 452 dives near Bikar, Bokak, Bikini and Rongerik atolls, spending roughly 643 hours under the water. They also explored the area using a submersible and cameras, and they collected water samples for genetic testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBikar and Bokak were, if not the most pristine, some of the most pristine waters and coral reefs and coral atolls we have ever viewed anywhere on Earth,\u201d says Ryan Jenkinson<\/a>, director of expeditions for National Geographic Pristine Seas, to Radio New Zealand<\/a>\u2019s Caleb Fotheringham.<\/p>\n

Scientists shared their findings from that expedition with local decisionmakers to inform a process called \u201creimaanlok<\/a>,\u201d a traditional Marshall Islands conservation philosophy that translates to \u201clook toward the future.\u201d The reimaanlok is rooted in the idea that coastal communities know best how to sustainably and equitably manage their local resources.<\/p>\n

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The new marine protected area includes Bikar Atoll (shown here) and Bokak Atoll in the Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n

Steve Spence \/ National Geographic Pristine Seas<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By protecting the waters surrounding the atolls, Marshall Islands leaders hope to see a boost in fish populations, which will in turn provide food and jobs for coastal communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ocean as our ancestors knew it is vanishing,\u201d says Hilda Heine<\/a>, president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the statement. \u201cWithout sustainable ocean ecosystems, our economy, stability and cultural identity will collapse. The only way to continue benefiting from the ocean\u2019s treasures is to protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The establishment of the marine protected area will likely be a boon to scientists, too, who expect to find new species of fish and invertebrates living in the pristine ecosystem. Researchers also hope the protection will ultimately help make the atolls\u2019 coral reefs more resilient in the face of threats like climate change and disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have these fully intact reefs\u2014even if the water gets so warm that some bleaching happens and some of the reef dies\u2014it will bounce back really, really quickly,\u201d Jenkinson tells Radio New Zealand. \u201c[Coral reefs] have adapted and evolved to bounce back but only if they are totally functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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