Marae Moana, world's largest MPAs

"Open ocean dominates Marae Moana, one of the world’s largest multi-use marine parks. It encompasses the entire Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone, 1.9 million square kilometers (733,500 square miles), including 15 tiny tropical islands fringed with coral reefs. With a holistic management approach, from ridge to reef and reef to ocean, Marae Moana has created a framework for sustainable development and conservation — establishing marine protected areas around each of the islands to prohibit large-scale commercial fishing and seabed mining activities within 50 nautical miles . . . The Cook Islands Marine Park is one of the largest national commitments to the Pacific Oceanscape — itself one of the largest conservation initiatives on Earth, encompassing 10 percent of the ocean’s surface, 23 Pacific Island countries and territories, and a wide range of natural resources essential for human well-being."