Kiribati is the only country in the world stretching long and far enough to fall into the world’s four hemispheres; north, south, east, and west. Kiribati’s island of Banaba was one of the three Pacific islands known as the “Great” phosphate rock islands; the others were Makatea Island of the French Polynesia chain and Nauru.
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Katsuwonus pelamis - The skip jack tuna is one of fifteen species of the Thunnini tribe and the primary tuna used as a source of food for human consumption. The world wide demand places the skip jack second on the list of harvested fish; it is exceeded only by the Peruvian anchoveta. Testing for contamination has found over 90% of the skip jack population tainted with the toxic compound tributyltin, TBT. This compound has leached into the skip jack’s ecosystem through the paint used on the hulls of ships for anti-fouling purposes.
