Antarctic protection

Finally! The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or in short is CCAMLR, arranged their 35th meeting in Hobart, Australia, have agreed on the world’s largest ocean protection plan, for the Ross Sea off Antarctica. They agreed to protect 1,550,000 km² of the Ross Sea. This zone will be used for fully protected marine reserve, special research zone allowing for limited research fishing for krill and toothfish, and krill research zone allowing for controlled research fishing for krill .

The Ross Sea has been described as the one of the most pristine wilderness areas left on Earth. This agreement took years of intensive work by many people in governments, and in non-government organizations. The agreement to create this protection for the Ross Sea off Antarctica shows how nations can join together to make real progress for the planet in a time of unprecedented need.

Antartica is a home to one third of the world’s Adélie penguins, one quarter of all emperor penguins, one third of all Antarctic petrels, and over half of all South Pacific Weddell seals. I wish this not just for the incredible diversity of life that it will protect, but also for the contribution it makes to building the resilience of the world’s ocean in the face of climate change.

http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?282733/Antarctic-protection-a-beacon-of-hope-for-ocean-conservation-globally#