Phoenix Islands Protected Area

Phoenix Islands Protected Area is a marine protected area surrounding the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati, in the central Pacific Ocean, between Australia and Hawaii. Established in January 2008, it covers 408,250 square kilometers, about 11.34 percent of the exclusive economic zone of Kiribati, making it one of the largest marine protected areas on Earth despite a total land area of only about 25 square kilometers. It protects one of the largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems in the world, home to roughly 200 coral species, 500 fish species, 18 marine mammal species and 44 bird species, along with 14 known underwater seamounts and deep sea habitats. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010, described at the time as the largest and deepest World Heritage Site yet listed, and it is managed by the government of Kiribati. Its own IUCN protected area category is not stated in the source consulted; it is classified here as a Habitat and Species Management Area on general classification knowledge as a disclosed low-confidence closest fit.