Progress report for
The Palau National Marine Sanctuary
Achievement at a glance
On October 28, 2015, President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. signed into law the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act, one of the world’s most ambitious ocean conservation initiatives to date aimed at not only protecting Palau’s marine resources but also at protecting the world’s tuna stocks.<br>Palau is 3 years into its five year transition period that will see the Palau National Marine Sanctuary will encompass over 80 percent of Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), an area of almost 500,000 square kilometers. The remaining 20 percent will be reserved for traditional fishing and highly regulated and reformed domestic fishing fleet to serve only Palau’s domestic and tourism needs.
<br>The Palau National Marine Sanctuary extends the tradition of Bul to cover the entire Exclusive Economic Zone of Palau and protect their precious marine resources for all Palauans.
<br>This landmark legislation creates a no-take Marine Sanctuary (approximately 500,000 square kilometers) covering 80% of Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), in which no fishing will occur, and creates a Domestic Fishing Zone covering approximately 20% of Palau’s EEZ in which traditional and domestic fishing activities will be allowed to provide fish solely for the domestic market.
<br>Consultations have been initiated with all outer islands and stakeholders to ensure strong national ownership of this process.
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Challenges faced in implementation
There have been some resource and capacity issues but the government is committed to this process and is working closely with its relevant partners both local and external to ensure this initiative is a success.Beneficiaries
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