Take a journey deep into the South Caribbean Sea to explore the protected waters of the Bonaire National Marine Park, home to thriving reefs, endangered sea turtles, sprawling mangroves, and a plethora of marine life.

In the Florida Keys, mangrove swamps serve as nurseries for fish and hunting grounds for endangered waterfowl, seagrass serves as food and shelter for fish and crustaceans, and coral reefs host diverse fish species and endangered sea turtles.

Journey to a vast underwater rainforest of kelp that’s home to hundreds of species of fish, forming the largest marine sanctuary in the U.S. Nearly destroyed by overfishing and pollution, this spectacular ecosystem is once again teeming with life.

After decades of overfishing and tourist activity, the second-longest barrier reef in the world is in jeopardy. But ocean advocates have lined the reef with a series of protected areas dedicated to maintaining its feeding and spawning grounds.

Hundreds of tiny islands south of the Bahamian capital of Nassau form a remote wonder that was almost lost to development in the 1950s. But in 1959, the Bahamian government established the first of 31 protected areas to preserve this pristine region.