The Kermadec region is significant to New Zealand and the world, providing an important safe haven for threatened species and an underwater frontier that scientists are only now beginning to explore. In September 2015, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced the government’s commitment to create a 620,000-square-kilometer ocean sanctuary in the Kermadecs, constituting one of the largest fully protected areas of ocean in the world. Pew and its partners have advocated for establishment of this sanctuary to safeguard critical species and support healthy ecosystems in the region for generations to come.
