Coming Up Short on Projected Marine Sanctuaries

A global target of having 30 percent of the oceans become protected areas by 2030 is looking more fragile than ever, with little progress and the United States backing away, conservationists say.

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"With less than 10 percent of the ocean designated as MPAs (marine protected areas) and only 2.7 percent fully or highly protected, it is going to be difficult to reach the 30 percent target," said Lance Morgan, head of the Marine Conservation Institute in Seattle, Washington.

The institute maps the MPAs for an online atlas, updating moves to meet the 30 percent goal that 196 countries signed onto in 2022, under the Kunling-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The ambition is notably at risk because "we see countries like the US reversing course and abandoning decades of bipartisan efforts" to protect areas of the Pacific Ocean, Morgan said.

That referred to an April executive order by President Donald Trump authorizing industrial-scale fishing in big swathes of an MPA in that ocean.

Currently, there are 16,516 declared MPAs in the world, covering just 8.4 percent of the oceans.