Easter Island
As part of their Global Ocean Legacy project, Pew Environment Group has identified Easter Island as a unique ecosystem worth protecting.
From Pew's campaign site:
A special territory of Chile, Easter Island covers a land area of 163 square kilometers (63 square miles). Easter Island and Salas y Gomez island’s surrounding waters out to 200 nautical miles cover an expanse of approximately 700,000 square kilometers (270,271 square miles).
The province of Easter Island includes its namesake island and Salas y Gomez, lying 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the east, which holds spiritual importance for the Rapa Nui. Salas y Gomez is also the site of the Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park, declared by the Chilean government in 2010. Together, Easter Island and Salas y Gomez are the only undersea mountains of the vast Salas y Gomez ocean ridge that emerge from the waves. The waters surrounding both islands out to 200 nautical miles cover an expanse of approximately 700,000 square kilometers (270,271 square miles).
World famous for its remarkable monolithic human figures, or moai, Easter Island is also recognized for its unique marine life. These waters support wide-ranging populations of fish species such as tuna and swordfish. Ancient Polynesians expertly navigated these waters guided by the stars and the ocean, giving it the name “the belly button of the world”. From one generation to the next, they passed along their impressive seafaring skills.
Though still largely unexplored, the waters of Easter Island are known to contain geological hot spots and areas of rare biodiversity. Highly migratory fish species, hydrothermal vents, and seamounts ranging from 8.4 million to 13.1 million years old are found here. Additionally, research expeditions to neighboring seamounts indicate that many fish communities are highly local, but that they bear a closer resemblance to Japanese and Hawaiian coastal fish communities than to those of South America’s Pacific coast.
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