Natural History Wanderings

National Geographic reported

The central African nation of Gabon this week declared almost a quarter of its territorial sea off-limits to commercial fishing, creating a first-of-its-kind network of marine protected areas in the region, which is home to threatened species including great hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and whale sharks

The area will cover 18,000 square miles over 46,000 square kilometers of ocean and will protect some of Gabon’s outstanding marine life: 20 species of whales and dolphins, including humpback whales and Atlantic humpback dolphins; and four species of marine turtles, the world’s largest breeding leatherback turtle population and the Atlantic Ocean’s largest breeding olive ridley turtle population among them.

via Gabon Announces World’s Newest Underwater Reserve, Rich in Threatened Wildlife.