Scuba Geek

Bush creates world’s largest marine sanctuary June 16, 2006

Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, News , trackback

US President George W Bush has designated a number of Hawaiian islands as a marine sanctuary. The area, which is nearly as big as California, supports more than 7,000 species, of which a significant number are unique and occur nowhere else. The islands are uninhabited and are important breeding grounds for sea turtles, and are home to the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

From a report by the BBC;

“This is really for the first time saying the primary purpose of this area of the ocean is to be a pristine, or nearly pristine, kind of place,” David Festa, director the ocean programme at Environmental Defense, told the New York Times.

“It would take it off the books as a fishing ground. That’s really the first time we’ll have done that in any kind of sizeable area,” he said.

Visitors will need permits for snorkelling or scuba diving in the area.