President Obama on Thursday created the largest marine reserve in the world by expanding Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean. It expands the monument to cover 490,000 square miles, six times its current size. <\/p>\n
\"Remote\" in the reserve's name refers to the string of uninhabited tropical islands -- including Howland, where Amelia Earhart was scheduled to refuel on her round-the-world flight before her plane disappeared, Wake and Baker -- as well as atolls and reefs west of Hawaii that make up this monument. <\/p>\n
Obama took the action to \"more fully protect the deep coral reefs, sea mounts and marine ecosystems unique to this part of the world,\" a White House announcement says. Commercial fishing will be banned in the waters but recreational fishing will be allowed. <\/p>\n
The president invoked the Antiquities Act in expanding the national monument that protected 83,000 square miles when it was created by President George W. Bush in 2009. <\/p>\n
The monument protects: <\/p>\n
--birds like boobies, frigatebirds and sooty terns that nest on Baker Island; <\/p>\n
--many types of coral -- staghorn, brain and others -- that exist on terraces around Baker Island and Kingman Reef; <\/p>\n
--sharks, jacks, grouper and parrotfish at Jarvis Island; and <\/p>\n
--Green and Hawskbill turtles, humpback whales and species of dolphins that forage in its waters. <\/p>\n
The monument is managed by the Interior and Commerce departments through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, respectively. <\/p>\n
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The rest is here: <\/p>\n
Obama adds to Pacific islands monument, world's biggest marine reserve<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Obama on Thursday created the largest marine reserve in the world by expanding Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean. It expands the monument to cover 490,000 square miles, six times its current size. \"Remote\" in the reserve's name refers to the string of uninhabited tropical islands -- including Howland, where Amelia Earhart was scheduled to refuel on her round-the-world flight before her plane disappeared, Wake and Baker -- as well as atolls and reefs west of Hawaii that make up this monument Continue reading