Reef & Ocean

A partially bleached table coral extends over a reef wall as fish swim by

Past the Reef Edge

The reef flat, the crest and the drop into open ocean — the profile that defines an atoll's edge and why most of the country is vertical water.

By the Visit Kiribati desk · 3 min read

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area

One of the largest marine protected areas on earth: what it covers, what it protects, and the trade-off a small economy accepted to create it.

By the Visit Kiribati desk · 5 min read

Sandy beach curves along a palm-lined lagoon under a cloudy sky in Kiribati

The Lagoon Is a System

Circulation, flushing, sediment and the biology a lagoon supports — and how causeways and settlement change all of it.

By the Visit Kiribati desk · 3 min read

A large fishing net hangs suspended from a boat's rigging against a blue sky

Tuna and the Licence Economy

Kiribati's exclusive economic zone is vast and its fishing licence revenue is central to the national budget. How that works, who fishes there, and what the dependency means.

By the Visit Kiribati desk · 5 min read

Colorful reef coral formations in shades of orange and brown beneath clear turquoise water

What Bleaching Actually Does

The mechanism of coral bleaching, the difference between bleached and dead, and the consequences for an island whose land is built of reef material.

By the Visit Kiribati desk · 3 min read