A World Apart

An underwater paradise in the remote Pacific Ocean that includes the sea around Caroline Island, seen here, will be protected—thanks in part to National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project.   Image © Brian Skerry/National Geographic

Above: The Line Islands were so named because they straddle the Equator, known to sailors as “the line.” Malden Island is largely barren above water but possesses an underwater luxuriance that attracted scientists from National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project.

 

Blacktip sharks, bluefin trevallies, and twinspot snappers (foreground)—ever watchful for a potential meal—throng a shallow passage into the lagoon of Millennium Island. Top predators like these are a defining feature of the world’s healthiest coral reefs.

 

In waters beyond the edge of a reef, schooling barracuda fill the sea with stripes. The 12-nautical-mile fishing exclusion zone around the southern Line Islands will protect barracuda along with less wide-ranging reef fish.

 

The images are from the September issue of National Geographic magazine.

 

source National Geographic