Lord Howe Rise is an exquisitely isolated 1.5 million square kilometer island located 800 kilometers east of Australia that boasts a huge variety of landscapes and marine life. The island is home to hundreds of species including sponges, crabs, sea urchins, sea stars, octopuses and even the world's rarest insect – a stick bug! – previously believed to be extinct. The area experiences threats from unregulated fishing, pollution, rising water temperatures from climate change and deep water trawling. However, conservation efforts are in the works: in 2018, the Australian government established the Lord Howe Marine Park, a move towards protection of the area's marine life and ecosystem.
