Chile created a national marine reserve (associated with the Desventuradas Islands) that is the largest such reserve in the Americas.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent sources including Oceana, Mongabay, Earth Journalism Network, and National Geographic's Pristine Seas project, consistent on size and designation as largest marine reserve in the Americas at time of creation (2015-2016).
Sources
- 10 Weird Animals From New Chile Reserve, Biggest in Americas (nationalgeographic.com)
- https://oceana.org/victories/chile-announces-designation-largest-marine-park-americas/ (oceana.org)
- https://earthjournalism.net/stories/chile-establishes-the-largest-marine-protected-area-in-the-americas (earthjournalism.net)
- https://news.mongabay.com/2016/09/chile-creates-largest-marine-park-in-southeast-pacific/ (news.mongabay.com)
- https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/pristine-seas/expeditions/desventuradas-islands/ (nationalgeographic.org)