--- title: Obama to Extend Marine Sanctuary Over Vast Expanse of Pacific Ocean description: The extension would reportedly double the total area of the world's protected oceans and aim to curb overfishing, pollution and black-market trading of illegal catches canonical: https://time.com/2889439/obama-pacific-marine-sanctuary/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-17T14:34:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:27:22.070Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama to Extend Marine Sanctuary Over Vast Expanse of Pacific Ocean og:description: The extension would reportedly double the total area of the world's protected oceans and aim to curb overfishing, pollution and black-market trading of illegal catches og:url: https://time.com/2889439/obama-pacific-marine-sanctuary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aca17ffac5bfeed/698697f436176078f590ca83/pacific_ocean.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Rainbow Over Ocean Waves og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama to Extend Marine Sanctuary Over Vast Expanse of Pacific Ocean twitter:description: The extension would reportedly double the total area of the world's protected oceans and aim to curb overfishing, pollution and black-market trading of illegal catches twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aca17ffac5bfeed/698697f436176078f590ca83/pacific_ocean.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Will Declare Vast Expanse of Pacific Ocean a Marine Sanctuary  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 17, 2014 2:34 PM UTC  Teahupo'o is world famous for its spectacular large waves that create beautiful hallow-breaking barrels. These powerful ocean waves often reach 7 to 10 feet and up to 21 feet. The unique waves are a caused in part by an extremely shallow coral reef. Teahupo'o is a village on the south-west coast of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean on July 2013. Teahupo'o is world famous for its spectacular large waves that create beautiful hallow-breaking barrels. These powerful ocean waves often reach 7 to 10 feet and up to 21 feet. The unique waves are a caused in part by an extremely shallow coral reef. Teahupo'o is a village on the south-west coast of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean on July 2013.Keith A. Ellenbogen—AP  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 17, 2014 2:34 PM UTC President Barack Obama plans to extend marine sanctuary protections over a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, limiting fishing, drilling and other commercial activities in a nautical area more than twice the size of Texas. The Washington _Post_ [reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-will-propose-vast-expansion-of-pacific-ocean-marine-sanctuary/2014/06/16/f8689972-f0c6-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1) that the proposal will dramatically extend the borders of an existing marine sanctuary encompassing a cluster of remote Pacific islands. It will expand the protected area surrounding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument from 87,000 square miles to 782,000 square miles, effectively doubling the area of the world’s protected oceans. The expansion is expected to draw fire from congressional Republicans, who accuse the President of overstepping the bounds of executive authority. “It’s another example of this imperial presidency,” House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings [told](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-will-propose-vast-expansion-of-pacific-ocean-marine-sanctuary/2014/06/16/f8689972-f0c6-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1) the _Post_. In addition to making the area off limits to commercial fishing and oil drilling, the President will reportedly direct federal agencies to come up with a plan to crack down on illegal fishing. The proposal is expected to go into effect later this year following an open comment period. \[[_WP_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-will-propose-vast-expansion-of-pacific-ocean-marine-sanctuary/2014/06/16/f8689972-f0c6-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2889439/obama-pacific-marine-sanctuary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2889439/obama-pacific-marine-sanctuary/"},"headline":"Obama Will Declare Vast Expanse of Pacific Ocean a Marine Sanctuary","datePublished":"2014-06-17T14:34:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:27:22.070Z","description":"The proposal would reportedly double the total area of the world's protected oceans in an ambitious plan to extend the president's environmental agenda over territorial waters","url":"https://time.com/2889439/obama-pacific-marine-sanctuary/","keywords":["Environment","Barack Obama","Fishing","drilling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aca17ffac5bfeed/698697f436176078f590ca83/pacific_ocean.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aca17ffac5bfeed/698697f436176078f590ca83/pacific_ocean.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rainbow Over Ocean Waves","caption":"Rainbow Over Ocean Waves","creditText":"Keith A. 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