Kiribati to open one of world’s largest marine protected areas to commercial fishing

Kiribati to open one of world’s largest marine protected areas to commercial fishing

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area is about the size of California and has been fully closed to commercial fishing since 2015

The Kiribati government has announced it will open up one of the world’s largest marine protected areas to commercial fishing, citing economic benefits to its people.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) spans 408,250 sq km (157,626 sq miles) – an area about the size of California – and was created in 2006 with the entire area declared a “no-take” zone in 2015, meaning that commercial fishing is forbidden.

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