June 1, 2025
The islands and reefs under the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument are some of the most remote and healthiest protected coral-reef marine ecosystems in USA waters, even the world. This vast monument encompass the waters surrounding seven islands and atolls across five areas southwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. These South Pacific islands and reefs include Jarvis, Howland, Baker, Wake Island, Johnson and Palmyra Atolls and Kingman reef.
Established by Presidential Proclamation in January 2009 and expanded through Presidential Proclamation in 2014, the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument) is cooperatively managed by the Secretary of Commerce (NOAA) and the Secretary of the Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), with the exception of Wake and Johnston Atolls, which are currently managed by the Department of Defense. National Wildlife Refuges also exist at each of the islands within the Monument, with Howland, Baker, and Jarvis designated as Refuges in 1974; Johnston in 1926; and Kingman and Palmyra in 2001.
The potential new National Marine Sanctuary would conserve 777,000 square miles (700,000 km2) by extending to the 200nm jurisdictional limit, including the Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument (PRIMNM) and currently unprotected submerged lands and waters.
The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument area consists of approximately 495,189 square miles (1,282,534 square kilometers) in the central Pacific Ocean. For many of the islands, the protection extends to 200 miles beyond the island’s edge, affording protection from commercial fishing for large marine animals like sea turtles, whales and sharks. These large areas also protect large migratory fishes like tuna, and allow stocks to recover and benefit fisheries outside the protected zone.
This protection is now at risk, due to a proclamation by President Trump to open the PIHMNM to commercial fishing.
The Monument includes 165 known seamounts that are hotspots of species abundance and diversity. It is one of the most pristine tropical marine environments in the world, and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.
The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument sustains a diversity of species including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, land birds, insects, and vegetation not found anywhere else in the world. Many threatened, endangered, and depleted species thrive in the area, including the green and hawksbill turtles, pearl oysters, giant clams, reef sharks, coconut crabs, groupers, humphead and Napoleon wrasses, bumphead parrotfish, dolphins, and whales.
Johnston Atoll is an ancient atoll (probably one of the oldest in the Pacific Ocean) and is comprised of Johnston, Sand, North, and East Islands. It’s the northernmost point of the Line Islands archipelago. Johnston supports at least 45 coral species, including a thriving table coral community and a dozen species found only in the Hawaiian and northern Line Islands. Large populations of seabirds, sea turtles, whales, and reef sharks are found here as well.
Established by Presidential Proclamation in January 2009 and expanded through Presidential Proclamation in 2014, the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (formerly known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument) is cooperatively managed by the Secretary of Commerce (NOAA) and the Secretary of the Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), with the exception of Wake and Johnston Atolls, which are currently managed by the Department of Defense. National Wildlife Refuges also exist at each of the islands within the Monument, with Howland, Baker, and Jarvis designated as Refuges in 1974; Johnston in 1926; and Kingman and Palmyra in 2001.
With more intact coral reefs, threatened and endangered wildlife, and important pelagic species like sea turtles, sharks and whales, the Pacific Remote Islands house some of the healthiest, biodiverse, and wildest ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean. The surrounding ocean hosts unique deepwater species and habitat, and the waterways have a rich history of Indigenous habitation and use, including wayfinding using winds, stars, and currents, connecting Native Pacific islanders across the Pacific, including Hawai’i.
Shark Steward’s mission is to restore ocean health by saving sharks from overfishing and the shark fin trade, and protecting critical marine habitat through the establishment of marine protected areas and shark sanctuaries. With your help, we can do it!