On June 7, 2026, President Moetai Brotherson announced that French Polynesia is adding 520,000 km² of fully protected ocean, near the Austral, Marquesas and western Society Islands. With this move, about 1.4 million km², or 30% of its waters, is now closed to extractive fishing and mining.
The World's Biggest Ocean Sanctuary Just Got Bigger
On June 7, 2026, the eve of World Ocean Day, French Polynesia's President Moetai Brotherson announced that his country would add 520,000 km² of fully protected ocean to its marine estate.
That single announcement brought about 1.4 million km² of French Polynesia's waters under full protection, where no extractive fishing or mining is allowed.
>> "This is our mission as Oceanians."
- President Moetai Brotherson
30% of a 5-Million km² Territory
French Polynesia's exclusive economic zone spans nearly 5 million km² across the central South Pacific, one of Earth's largest maritime territories, home to pristine coral reefs, whale nurseries, and deep-sea ecosystems still largely unknown to science.
With this expansion, 30% of French Polynesia's EEZ is now under the highest level of protection: no extractive fishing and no mining. French Polynesia has also kept a moratorium on seabed mining in its waters since 2022.
The Blue Nature Alliance called it the single largest contribution to the global 30×30 goal, the international commitment to protect 30% of land and ocean by 2030.
What Full Protection Means
The zones include the waters around the Austral Islands, the Marquesas Islands, and the western Society Islands. Small-scale artisanal fishing remains possible in separate zones, using a single pole and line from boats under 12 metres.
For the species living there, whales, dolphins, sea turtles and 20 species of sharks, including the critically endangered scalloped hammerhead, the designation changes everything.
Globally, only around 1.5% of the high seas is protected, and far less than 30% of the ocean as a whole. French Polynesia just showed what it looks like when a government treats ocean protection as a moral obligation, not a negotiating position.
_Sources: David Brown, "French Polynesia expands ocean protections to 30% of its waters", Mongabay, 18 June 2026. Blue Nature Alliance, "French Polynesia announces historic marine protections in Austral and Marquesas Islands", June 2026. UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, Protected Planet, "Marine protected areas", 2026._