Blue Holes Protected Area

Large marine protected area (~16,500 km2 per NCW) along the southern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, between the Makkah and Jazan regions (roughly 17.6-19.9 N, i.e. north of Jazan region — not to be confused with the separate Juzur Farasan Biosphere Reserve further south), encompassing at least 10-20 deep underwater blue-hole sinkholes (depths ~47-51.5 m and deeper), coral reefs and ~35 marine islands. Designated by the National Center for Wildlife (announced 2025). As an NCW-designated protected area it falls under the Article 73(1) ban on fishing in protected areas, prohibiting spearfishing within it. Coordinate is a verified interior point of the area's gazetted boundary as published in the WDPA (record 555882100, 16,427 km2 and 100% marine, matching NCW's stated ~16,500 km2), 29.6 km inside the nearest edge; the instrument's own vertex list is not published.