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Niue: Tiny Pacific island nation declares bold plan to protect 100 percent of its ocean


Niue, one of the world’s largest coral islands, is dependent on other states to help its protect its exclusive economic zone. Photograph: Richard Sidey/Galaxiid
Published date: 31-May-2022

The Pacific island state of Niue has announced that it will protect 100 percent of the ocean in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which spans 317,500 sq km (122,000 sq miles), roughly the area of Vietnam.

The water that surrounds one of the world’s largest raised coral atolls is the only place where the katuali is found – a sea snake that lives in the island’s honeycomb of underwater caves. Humpback whales migrate to Niue from Antarctica to give birth, spinner dolphins swim near the coast and Niue boasts the world’s highest density of grey reef sharks.

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