The isolated nation of #Palau, in the South Pacific, comprises 250 small islands for a combined 177 square miles. But international law extends its authority to 200 miles from its coast, or about 230,000 square miles of ocean. For a relatively poor country with no military, a tiny marine police division and waters teeming with poachers, it’s a tall order. But it has taken aggressive steps to protect its natural resources, banning bottom trawling and shark fishing, using the latest in surveillance technology, and providing a model for collaboration among countries, companies and NGOs. gettyreportage contributor Ben Lowy (benlowy) visited Palau last year to show the marine police’s efforts. _ "Members of the 19-man Palau Marine Police unit board and search a foreign fishing boat operating in Palau territorial waters.The patrol team approached the fishing trawler all night and raided it at dawn, packing all the crew into the bow as they searched for contraband catch in the boat's hold." -...