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Palau vs. the PoachersThe isolated nation of Palau, in the South...
Reportage by Getty Images TumblrA small patrol boat belonging to the island nation of Palau, used to monitor the shallow waters off shore. Photo by Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images Reportage
A reef shark - protected from commercial fishing - in the waters off Palau. Photo by Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images Reportage
Palau vs. the Poachers
The isolated nation of Palau, in the South Pacific, comprises 250 small islands that take up only 177 square miles combined. But international law extends its authority to 200 miles from its coast, giving it control over 230,000 square miles of ocean. For a relatively poor country with no military and a tiny marine police division, and waters teeming with poachers, it’s a tall order. But, as The New York Times reporter Ian Urbina writes, Palau has mounted an aggressive response: it has banned bottom trawling and shark fishing, employed the latest in surveillance technology, and provided a model for collaboration among countries, companies and NGOs.
Reportage photographer visited Palau on assignment for The Times to show the marine police’s efforts and the natural resources they are trying to protect.
Read the article in this week’s issue of The New York Times Magazine.
