An internationally-revered global Marine Protected Area specialist, Max Bello spends a lot of his time meeting members of ocean and coastal communities from all around the world, working alongside them to help foster and facilitate greater protection for the many expansive marine areas they call home.

Returning with his latest Column for Oceanographic Magazine, this week Max ‘the government whisperer’ Bello is reporting back from Fakarava Atoll in French Polynesia, where the government in the past month has announced plans to establish the world’s largest Marine Protected Area, spanning some five million square kilometres, with more than one million of them to receive the highest levels of protection.

“This is one of the most famous diving places because of the sharks, the walls of sharks that gather here,” says Max. “They gather because there is a healthy ecosystem and a coral reef that sustains them, as well as the grouper aggregation that gathers here. It’s the sign of a healthy marine environment.”

But around the world, sharks face a crisis. More than 100 million sharks are killed each year, mainly for their fins. We are losing a key part of the ecosystem.

“The good news is, with the announcement of the new marine protected area here across French Polynesia, we are starting to gain protections back for our sharks,” Max continues. “With one million square kilometres of no-takes, this is the largest protected area on earth. This is incredible news and exactly what other countries around the world should now follow.”

Here’s what Max Bello has to tell us here at Oceanographic Magazine: