Utirik Atoll Utirik Atoll Utirik Atoll or Utrik Atoll (Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area of . It is located approximately east of Ujae Atoll. The population of Utirik Atoll is 409; it is one of the northernmost Marshall Islands with permanent habitation. The larger islets are: Its first recorded sighting was by the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra on board of the ship "Florida" on
Shaviyani Atoll of Milandhoo. This decision was vetoed by President Nasheed, and Milandhoo continued as the seat of the atoll office. The issue surfaced once again on February 26, 2011 when home rule was introduced into the country and the atoll offices were to be rebranded as the secretariats for the newly formed atoll councils. According to the Decentralization Bill, under which the councils were formed, the respective secretariats were to be seated in the capital islands of each atoll as stipulated in the new constitution of 2008, which in Shaviyani Atoll's case is Funadhoo. In the first atoll council meeting, it