In 2008, Kiribati proclaimed it to be part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, the largest marine protected area in the world. In 2010, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area became the world's largest UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2002, the wreck of the fishing trawler Chance on McKean released the Asian rat onto the island, which decimated the native populations of storm petrels, blue noddies and other petrels and shearwaters. In 2008 NZAID funded the rat eradication of McKean Island, which was proven successful in late 2009.
