Banco Volcán Marine Protected Area Expansion (Panama)

In 2022, the Wyss Foundation provided a $110,600 grant to MigraMar to help dramatically expand the Banco Volcán Marine Protected area within Panama’s territorial waters in the Caribbean Sea. The expansion increased the size of the Banco Volcán from approximately 14,164 square kilometers to more than 89,840 square kilometers.

In 2023, Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo signed a decree officially expanding the Banco Volcán Marine Protected Area, helping protect and conserve critical marine ecosystems, endangered flora and fauna, and important fishing resources. Notably, half of the area was designated as a fully protected marine area where no extractive or environmentally damaging activities are allowed. Combined with other marine protected areas in Panama’s Pacific Ocean territory, this designation helped the country protect more than fifty-four percent of its ocean. The expansion includes four submarine ridges considered aggregation sites for pelagic species, as well as deep plains and geological formations that foster high biodiversity. The expanded marine protected area is essential for protecting 120 species of fish, including three species considered critically endangered: the scalloped hammerhead shark, the great hammerhead shark, and the oceanic whitetip shark.

Grantee MigraMar worked with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to develop the technical justification for the expansion and to conduct the public consultation process in partnership with the Government of Panama. The map below shows the expanded marine protected area in orange.

This project was made possible through the work of MigraMar, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the Government of Panama.