Papua New Guinea Creates a UK-Sized Ocean Sanctuary in the Heart of the Coral Triangle

In May 2026, during the inaugural Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea announced one of the largest marine conservation commitments in its history: the Western Manus Marine Protected Area. Spanning roughly 200,000 square kilometers of the Bismarck Sea — an area nearly the size of the United Kingdom — the reserve represents about nine percent of the country’s exclusive economic zone and is designated as strictly “no take,” meaning all fishing and extractive activities will be prohibited within its boundaries.

The waters protected by the new sanctuary lie within the Coral Triangle, often described as the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. Scientific surveys in Papua New Guinea’s seas have documented more than 700 reef fish taxa and over 300 species of hard coral, alongside deep-sea ecosystems that remain largely unexplored. The area functions as a kind of marine highway, used by gray reef sharks, manta and other rays, green sea turtles, and a remarkable array of marine mammals including spinner and bottlenose dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, and orcas.

“Spanning roughly 200,000 square kilometers of the Bismarck Sea — an area nearly the size of the United Kingdom — the reserve represents about nine percent of the country’s exclusive economic zone and is designated as strictly “no take,” meaning all fishing and extractive activities will be prohibited within its boundaries.”

The designation is the product of close collaboration between Papua New Guinea’s Conservation and Environment Protection Authority and conservation partners including National Geographic Pristine Seas and the Wildlife Conservation Society. By creating a fully protected zone of this scale, the country contributes meaningfully to the global “30x30” goal of protecting thirty percent of the ocean by 2030 — a target that nations around the world have pledged to pursue.

Large, fully protected marine areas allow fish populations to grow, mature, and spill over into surrounding waters, benefiting both wildlife and the coastal communities who depend on healthy seas. For Papua New Guinea, whose people have long lived in close relationship with the ocean, the Western Manus sanctuary is both a gift to future generations and a powerful statement that even small island nations can lead the way in protecting the planet’s most precious marine treasures.