Portal:Oceania/Selected article/March, 2010
The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a U.S. National Monument encompassing 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of ocean waters and ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, making it one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world.
Although it is not a sanctuary, the ocean area is part of a system of 13 National Marine Sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge (254,418.10 acres or 1,029.59 km) in the monument is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
The monument supports 7,000 species, one quarter of which are endemic. Prominent species include the threatened Green Sea Turtle and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the Laysan and Nihoa Finches, the Nihoa Millerbird, Laysan Duck, seabirds such as the Laysan Albatross, numerous species of plants including Pritchardia palms, and many species of arthropods. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, populations of lobster have not recovered from extensive harvesting in the 1980s and 1990s, which is now banned; the remaining fisheries are overfished.