But here’s the real problem: To date, while virtually all of the strongly protected areas in U.S. waters are in the Western Pacific region — Papahanaumokuakea, Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench, and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments, covering a total of approximately 1.2 million square miles— less than 1 percent of marine waters in the rest of U.S. waters are similarly strongly protected.
Seeking to correct this imbalance, a group of U.S. marine scientists sent a letter to Biden in 2021 urging him to “go big” on ocean protection as part of the administration’s 30×30 initiative by establishing several new marine national monuments in other U.S. waters.