Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Palmyra Atoll unit)

Palmyra is the one place in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands a private vessel can lawfully visit — and still not spearfish. The refuge was "established on January 18, 2001, by the Secretary of the Interior and includes submerged lands and associated waters out to 12 nautical miles from the atoll", with monument waters reaching 50 nautical miles; the atoll itself is a ring of about 26 islets around lagoons and 15,000 acres of reef, co-managed with The Nature Conservancy. With prior Fish and Wildlife Service approval privately owned vessels may stay up to seven days (maximum two vessels at a time, no more than six per month, and only while a Service manager is present, roughly six months a year). On fishing the Service is explicit: "Due to the sensitive nature of Palmyra's ecosystem and the high abundance of apex predators, recreational fishing opportunities are very limited. Permits for catch and release bone-fishing will only be issued to groups who are led by a resource monitor already familiar with the atoll's environment and refuge regulations who is approved by the refuge manager." Only catch-and-release fly fishing under that permit exists; taking any animal remains prohibited under 50 CFR 27.21, and Proclamation 8336 preserved only the non-commercial fishing "currently allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Palmyra Atoll". Snorkelling and, conditionally, SCUBA are allowed — spearfishing is not.