Palau may be leading the way in marine conservation. This can only be good news for this excellent dive destination, home to some of the best liveaboard experiences in the world .

An article in the New Zealand Herald reports: “Palau created the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009 and the move has been so successful that plans are now underway to completely ban commercial fishing in the island nation’s vast ocean territory by 2018.

The fishing-free zone in the northern Pacific, described as unprecedented by famed US marine scientist Sylvia Earle, will cover 630,000sq km, an area almost the size of France.”

Kudos to Palau president Timmy Remengesau for seeking to build on Palau’s success in protecting sharks. “Just a decade ago, dozens of so-called “shark boats” regularly docked in Palau’s commercial centre Koror, hanging fins to dry from their rigging as they worked to supply a seemingly insatiable demand in Asia for the primary ingredient in shark fin soup.

During the height of the trade, an estimated 73 million sharks a year had their fins hacked off and were thrown back into the sea to die.”

Now, as everyone knows, Palau’s waters have a very healthy shark population and has become something of a must-visit destination for divers keen to experience dives with sharks and rays and vast quantities of fish.

If you want to dive Palau, contact Dive The World right away on +66 (0)94 582 7973 / (0)83 505 7794 or send us an email.