ent moves south, which
kills the plankton that is the primary food source for anchovies;
consequently, the anchovies move to better feeding grounds, causing resident
marine birds to starve by the thousands because of their lost food source

Note: the major choke points are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal,
Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean
into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; ships subject to
superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May and in extreme south
from May to October; persistent fog in the northern Pacific from June to
December is a hazard to shipping; surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic
and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the Pacific Ring of Fire

- Economy
Overview: The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world
economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch.
It provides cheap sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing
grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the
construction industry. In 1985 over half (54%) of the world's total fish catch
came from the Pacific Ocean, which is the only ocean where the fish catch
has increased every year since 1978. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas
reserves is playing an ever increasing role in the energy supplies of Australia,
New Zealand, China, US, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil
and gas, combined with the lower world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed
but not stopped new drillings.

Industries: fishing, oil and gas production

- Communications
Ports: Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Los Angeles (US),
Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US),
Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (USSR),
Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)

Telecommunications: several submarine cables with network focused
on Guam and Hawaii
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Pakistan
- Geography
Total area: 803,940 km2; land area: 778,720 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: 6,774 km total; Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km,
India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

Coastline: 1,046 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: boundary with India;