The global median size for marine protected areas is 1.6 km2.* In other words, half of MPAs worldwide are larger than that, and half are smaller. The following list, drawn from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), features marine protected areas that are equal in area to the global median:

Capel Island and Knockadoon Nature Reserve

Ireland (WDPA ID: 10936)

Cayman Brac East grouper spawning site

Cayman Islands (WDPA ID: 303914)

No Diving Zone (West)

Cayman Islands (WDPA ID: 303909)

Olive Marine Protected Area

Solomon Islands (WDPA ID: 555544155)

Yoronto Marine Park

Japan (WDPA ID: 71188)

Information on each of the MPAs is available at www.protectedplanet.net . The website serves as a searchable interface for the World Database on Protected Areas, compiled by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Each protected area in the database has its own page on www.protectedplanet.net with details such as its IUCN category, year of designation, and more.

* Source: Global Ocean Protection: Current Trends and Future Opportunities (IUCN/The Nature Conservancy/UNEP, 2010). http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2010-053.pdf