Two remote atolls in the Marshall Islands are emerging as some of the most intact marine ecosystems on Earth.
Bikar and Bokak, lying up to 385 kilometers from the nearest inhabited atoll, support breeding seabird colonies, active turtle nesting, coral-dominated reefs, large predators and deep-sea communities that remain largely undocumented.
Surrounding waters covering 48,000 square kilometers are protected as the country's first national marine sanctuary, safeguarding one of the Pacific's least disturbed natural laboratories.
Surveys carried out in 2023 documented 15 breeding seabird colonies, 132 green sea turtle nest pits and deep-sea fish groups never before recorded in the Marshall Islands.
With Bikar supporting more algae and Bokak holding higher reef-fish biomass, the atolls provide a rare baseline for conservation as human pressures reshape oceans worldwide.