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Top 10 Largest Marine Protected Areas by Area in the World

The ten biggest marine protected areas on Earth, ranked by designated area, from French Polynesia's 4.8-million-km2 Tainui Atea to the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve.

Updated October 5, 2026 10 ranked 13 sources

Quick answer

Tainui Atea (French Polynesia) is the largest marine protected area in the world, at 4.8 million km2. Marae Moana is second at 1.976 million km2 and France's French Southern Territories reserve third at 1.66 million km2. The ranking uses total designated area of single named MPAs, from managing-agency figures, as of October 2026.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are the ocean's national parks: stretches of sea where a government or treaty body restricts fishing, mining and other activities to protect wildlife and habitats. The largest of them are vast, often covering an island nation's entire exclusive economic zone, and most of the giants sit in the remote Pacific and Southern oceans, where a handful of islands control enormous areas of sea. This list ranks the ten largest individual MPAs by total designated area. It is for anyone who wants to know where the biggest protected patches of ocean are, who governs them, and how they compare in size. Note that size is not the same as strictness: some of these areas ban all extraction, while others allow managed fishing across most of their waters.

Designated area (million km2)

Designated area (million km2)
Tainui Atea (French Polynesia)
4.8 million km2
Marae Moana (Cook Islands)
2.0 million km2
French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve (France)
1.7 million km2
Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (Antarctica)
1.6 million km2
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (United States)
1.5 million km2
Natural Park of the Coral Sea (New Caledonia)
1.3 million km2
Pacific Islands Heritage (Pacific Remote Islands) Marine National Monument (United States)
1.3 million km2
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands MPA (United Kingdom)
1.2 million km2
Coral Sea Marine Park (Australia)
1.0 million km2
Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve (United Kingdom)
0.8 million km2

The ranking

1

Tainui Atea (French Polynesia)

Covering French Polynesia's entire exclusive economic zone, about 4.8 million km2, Tainui Atea began as a managed marine area in 2018. It was formally designated a marine protected area at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, which made it the largest MPA ever created. It is more than twice the size of the runner-up. Fully protected no-take zones were extended in June 2026 and now cover roughly 1.4 million km2.

Area: 4.8 million km2Jurisdiction: French Polynesia (France)Ocean: South PacificDesignated: 2018 (managed area); MPA 2025
2

Marae Moana (Cook Islands)

The Cook Islands placed its whole EEZ, about 1.98 million km2, under the Marae Moana multiple-use marine park in 2017. That puts one of the world's smallest nations in charge of the second-largest MPA on Earth. Large-scale commercial fishing and seabed mining are restricted within 50 nautical miles of each of the 15 islands.

Area: 1.976 million km2Jurisdiction: Cook IslandsOcean: South PacificDesignated: 2017
3

French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve (France)

France extended this sub-Antarctic reserve around the Kerguelen, Crozet, Saint-Paul and Amsterdam islands to all of their surrounding waters in February 2022. The extension added nearly a million km2 and brought it to about 1.66 million km2. About 375,000 km2 is closed to all industrial and commercial activity.

Area: 1.66 million km2Jurisdiction: France (French Southern and Antarctic Lands)Ocean: Southern Indian OceanDesignated: 2006; extended 2022
4

Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (Antarctica)

Agreed by consensus of the CCAMLR commission in October 2016 and in force since December 2017, the Ross Sea MPA covers 1.55 million km2 off Antarctica. It is the only MPA on this list created by an international treaty body rather than one country. 72 percent of it is a no-take zone, and it runs for 35 years until a 2052 review.

Area: 1.55 million km2Jurisdiction: CCAMLR (international)Ocean: Southern OceanDesignated: 2016 (in force 2017)
5

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (United States)

Established in 2006 and quadrupled in size in 2016, this monument around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands covers 582,570 square miles, about 1.51 million km2. In January 2025 NOAA also designated it a national marine sanctuary, the largest in the US system. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to more than 7,000 marine species.

Area: 1.51 million km2Jurisdiction: United StatesOcean: North PacificDesignated: 2006; expanded 2016
6

Natural Park of the Coral Sea (New Caledonia)

Created in 2014 across all of New Caledonia's EEZ, this park of about 1.29 million km2 protects the world's largest lagoon and its second-longest double barrier reef. A 2023 expansion of its strict reserves put about 10 percent of the area under strong protection.

Area: 1.29 million km2Jurisdiction: New Caledonia (France)Ocean: South Pacific (Coral Sea)Designated: 2014
7

Pacific Islands Heritage (Pacific Remote Islands) Marine National Monument (United States)

First designated in 2009 and expanded in 2014, this monument spans about 1.27 million km2, nearly twice the size of Texas. It surrounds seven remote US islands and atolls, including Wake, Johnston, Jarvis, Howland, Baker, Kingman Reef and Palmyra. It is co-managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA.

Area: 1.27 million km2Jurisdiction: United StatesOcean: Central PacificDesignated: 2009; expanded 2014
8

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands MPA (United Kingdom)

Established in 2012, the South Georgia MPA covers the territory's entire 1.24 million km2 maritime zone. It is a sustainable-use MPA: closely regulated toothfish and krill fisheries continue, but 23 percent of it (284,000 km2) is a no-take zone closed to all commercial fishing.

Area: 1.24 million km2Jurisdiction: United Kingdom (overseas territory)Ocean: Southern Atlantic / Southern OceanDesignated: 2012
9

Coral Sea Marine Park (Australia)

Australia's largest single marine park covers 989,836 km2 of the Coral Sea beyond the Great Barrier Reef. Managed by Parks Australia since 1 July 2018, it protects coral reefs, sandy cays, deep-sea plains and canyons.

Area: 0.99 million km2Jurisdiction: AustraliaOcean: South Pacific (Coral Sea)Designated: 2018
10

Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve (United Kingdom)

Declared by the UK government in 2016, the Pitcairn reserve is a complete no-take marine reserve of 834,334 km2 around one of the world's most remote inhabited island groups. That makes it the largest fully protected MPA in this top 10, and its waters hold intact reefs and deep-sea habitats with species new to science.

Area: 0.834 million km2Jurisdiction: United Kingdom (overseas territory)Ocean: South PacificDesignated: 2016

Full comparison

# Name AreaJurisdictionOceanDesignated
1 Tainui Atea (French Polynesia) 4.8 million km2French Polynesia (France)South Pacific2018 (managed area); MPA 2025
2 Marae Moana (Cook Islands) 1.976 million km2Cook IslandsSouth Pacific2017
3 French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve (France) 1.66 million km2France (French Southern and Antarctic Lands)Southern Indian Ocean2006; extended 2022
4 Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (Antarctica) 1.55 million km2CCAMLR (international)Southern Ocean2016 (in force 2017)
5 Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (United States) 1.51 million km2United StatesNorth Pacific2006; expanded 2016
6 Natural Park of the Coral Sea (New Caledonia) 1.29 million km2New Caledonia (France)South Pacific (Coral Sea)2014
7 Pacific Islands Heritage (Pacific Remote Islands) Marine National Monument (United States) 1.27 million km2United StatesCentral Pacific2009; expanded 2014
8 South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands MPA (United Kingdom) 1.24 million km2United Kingdom (overseas territory)Southern Atlantic / Southern Ocean2012
9 Coral Sea Marine Park (Australia) 0.99 million km2AustraliaSouth Pacific (Coral Sea)2018
10 Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve (United Kingdom) 0.834 million km2United Kingdom (overseas territory)South Pacific2016

How we ranked this

MPAs are ranked by total designated area in millions of square kilometres, using the figure published by the managing government, treaty body or park agency for each site, cross-checked against Wikipedia's list of largest protected areas (which draws on the UN World Database on Protected Areas). Each entry is a single named MPA, not a national network, so Australia's network of Commonwealth marine parks counts only through its largest single park. Total area is counted regardless of protection level: multiple-use areas such as Tainui Atea and Marae Moana are ranked by their full extent, and their fully protected cores are noted in the blurbs. Fishery-management closures that are not designated as MPAs, such as the US Steller Sea Lion Protection Areas, are excluded, as is the former protection zone around the French Southern Territories reserve, which the reserve's 2022 extension now covers. Tainui Atea is listed at 4.8 million km2, the extent of French Polynesia's EEZ; some sources round this to 'nearly 5 million'. Papahanaumokuakea's 582,570 square miles is converted to 1.51 million km2. Figures are as of October 2026.

FAQ

What is the largest marine protected area in the world?

Tainui Atea in French Polynesia, at about 4.8 million km2. It covers the territory's whole exclusive economic zone and was formally designated an MPA at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference.

What is the largest fully protected (no-take) marine reserve?

Size and strictness differ. Several giants on this list allow managed fishing across most of their area. Of the ten here, the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve (834,334 km2) is a complete no-take reserve over its entire extent. Papahanaumokuakea is also very strictly protected, and the Ross Sea MPA's no-take zone covers 72 percent of its 1.55 million km2.

Why are so many of the largest MPAs around small islands?

An island's exclusive economic zone extends 200 nautical miles from its coast, so a scattering of small, remote islands can control millions of square kilometres of ocean. Protecting a whole EEZ, as French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia have done, creates an enormous MPA at a single stroke.

Is the Ross Sea MPA permanent?

Not automatically. CCAMLR set it to run for 35 years from its entry into force in December 2017. At the 2052 review, member states must agree by consensus to renew or modify it.

Sources

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