Within the framework of the Our Ocean Conference on Mar. 2-3, 2023 in Panama City, Panama's President Laurentino Cortizo and Minister of Environment Milciades Concepción added 36,058 square miles to the Banco Volcán marine protected area in the Caribbean. During the last two decades, researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) along with local and international collaborators have offered much of the science backing Panama's successful proposals to create the MPA's bringing more than 50% of its ocean waters under some form of management or protection.