on 22 august 2019 the ascension island government announced the designation of 100% of ascension's exclusive economic zone (eez) as a marine protected area (mpa). the eez covers an area of over 440,000 square km, making it one of the largest in the world. within the mpa it is proposed that commercial fishing and mineral extraction will be prohibited. legislation is now being brought forward and development of a management plan is underway. these will be put into place subject to confirmation that the ongoing costs of management, monitoring and enforcement have been provided by the uk government.