Archived Project

Global Ocean Legacy

Marianas

In January 2009, President George W. Bush established by proclamation the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, made up of three sections: the Volcanic and Trench units, plus the Islands Unit, which consists of 16,405 square miles of highly protected waters and submerged land in the western Pacific Ocean. The monument is located in the Mariana Archipelago, about 1,400 miles south of Japan.

The waters are home to rare beaked whales, dolphins, and colorful deep-water fish. More than two dozen species of seabirds inhabit the area, along with several species of endangered or threatened sea turtles, a variety of marine mammals, and giant coconut crabs, the largest land-living arthropod. At more than 36,000 feet, the Marianas Trench is the deepest place on Earth.

In 2008, Pew’s Global Ocean Legacy project joined efforts by residents of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth, to help safeguard the area, which then became the second major marine monument designated in the United States. Today, the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project continues to work with islanders to improve protections for this unique biological and geological hot spot.

Our Work

Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy
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Project

Legado para los Océanos de Pew Bertarelli

Pew and the Bertarelli Foundation have joined forces in a new partnership with the goal of increasing the number of fully protected parks in the sea from nine to 15 by 2022.

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Project

Desde el caluroso ecuador hasta los gélidos polos Norte y Sur, el océano une el planeta. Constituye más del 70 % de la superficie de la Tierra y alberga casi una cuarta parte de las especies conocidas del mundo, además de muchas otras que aún no han sido descubiertas. Sin embargo, las actividades del ser humano están amenazando cada vez más su bienestar.

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Podcast

Our Blue Planet–Protecting the Ocean

Episode 6

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Podcast

Three-quarters of our planet is covered with water—and it’s this water that sustains life. But our liquid planet, home to half of the world’s known creatures and plants, is facing multiple threats, such as overfishing and commercial development. That’s why leading scientists say that 30 percent of our oceans should be protected. Host Dan LeDuc explores why this 30 percent data point is important with two people committed to safeguarding the oceans: native Hawaiian Sol Kaho’ohalahala, whose culture and livelihood depend on sustainable seas; and Matt Rand, who directs the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project and has been working with people like Kaho’ohalahala since 2006 to keep our oceans healthy.

Where We Work
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Global Ocean Legacy works with local communities, governments and scientists around the world to protect and conserve some of our most important and unspoiled ocean environments.

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Global Ocean Legacy works with local communities, governments and scientists around the world to protect and conserve some of our most important and unspoiled ocean environments.

Learn More