The Palmyra Atoll

"The most important marine wilderness area left in the U.S. tropics, the Palmyra Atoll supports five times as many coral species as the Florida Keys and three times as many as Hawaii and the Caribbean. It provides nesting areas for more than one million seabirds and is the only undeveloped, forested atoll in the U.S. tropical Pacific. In 2005, federal legislation increased the amount of protected ocean wilderness surrounding Palmyra to 13 million acres, making it the second largest U.S. marine protected area. 'In a survey of more than 100 marine reserves worldwide, scientists found a 446 percent average increase in biomass of animals and plants, a 166 percent average increase in number of plants or animals and a 1,000 percent increase in biomass and populations density of heavily fished species.' Though all commercial fishing was banned in the Palmyra Atoll, NOAA lacks the rules and resources for enforcement."

- Bruce Babbit & The Nature Conservancy

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Always choose MSC-certified seafood to avoid supporting fishing practices that harm remote island ecosystems.

• Support policies that cut carbon emissions to protect Palmyra’s warming seas.

• Support coral restoration and invasive-species removal to protect Palmyra’s reefs and seabirds.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND HOW TO HELP

Visit:

• The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Places We Protect

• Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium (PARC)

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument