A massive area of the Southern Ocean – the 1.57 square kilometres of the Ross Sea, has been declared a marine sanctuary.
BBC: World’s largest marine protected area declared in Antarctica
Delegates from 24 countries and the European Union have agreed that the Ross Sea in Antarctica will become the world’s largest marine protected area (MPA).
At this meeting in Hobart, Australia, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) agreed unanimously to designate the Ross Sea as an MPA, after years of protracted negotiations, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced.
The Ross Sea, its shelf and slope only comprise 2% of the Southern Ocean but they are home to 38% of the world’s Adelie penguins, 30% of the world’s Antarctic petrels and around 6% of the world’s population of Antarctic minke whales.
The region is important to the rest of the planet as the upwelling of nutrients from the deep waters are carried on currents around the world.
The Ross Sea is also home to huge numbers of krill, a staple food for species including whales and seals. Their oil is critical for salmon farming. However there are concerns that overfishing and climate change are having significant impacts on their numbers.
The proposal, introduced by New Zealand and the US, and accepted by all the other nations, will see a general protection “no-take” zone where nothing can be removed including marine life and minerals.
As part of the compromise that emerged in negotiations, there will be special zones where
Stuff: What you need to know about Antarctica’s huge marine reserve
Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the final decision to create the reserve was unanimous, though the original proposal required “some changes”.
“New Zealand has played a leading role in reaching this agreement which makes a significant contribution to global marine protection,” he said.
New Zealand and the US have been pushing for a marine reserve since 2012, but such decisions require a consensus.
The negotiations have been complicated because the proposed protected area was situated in the high seas where no one country has control.
It’s good to see New Zealand (and ther National led Government) actively promoting environmental protection, especially on this scale.
If you head directly south from Gisborne you will end up in the Ross Sea – Bluff is slightly to the west.
Your NZ 
Corky
/ 28th October 2016”It’s good to see New Zealand (and their National led Government) actively promoting environmental protection, especially on this scale.” Great stuff. And great description by Pete.
But there’s much weird stiff going on down there. Especially by America and Russia. Much of it off the books.
Conspiracies abound. Here’s one to rattle Kitties tail fur.
https://www.intellihub.com/what-the-u-s-government-found-then-covered-up-in-antarctica-will-blow-your-mind/
Pete George
/ 28th October 2016What’s an old UFO conspiracy got to do with the announcing of a marine sanctuary?
Corky
/ 28th October 2016Fair point. The sanctuary may be after the fact. There are already many experiments and core drilling’s underway. There’s a huge underground lake that has been discovered. God knows what that harbours should a breach or contamination of some type take place even if that isn’t in the designated reserve area. Its not like OSH will demand to inspect the ar
ea, or the heavily guarded American transport planes that go through Christchurch and Australian airports bound for the ice. I bet they don’t carry scientific equipment.
Admiral Byrd’s expeditions had little to do with UFO’S. Listen to the man himself. All this was going on decades ago.
https://www.intellihub.com/admiral-byrd-tells-archived-interview-hollow-earth-real/
PartisanZ
/ 28th October 2016How can the earth be hollow if its flat …?
Corky
/ 28th October 2016I never said it was hollow. How could it be hollow? Quite easily if its an oblate spheroid shape.
Pete George
/ 28th October 2016Your link included:
Klik Bate
/ 28th October 2016Ugly Truth
/ 28th October 2016Timing. Rumour has it that there’s currently a major power shift underway affecting the deep state, so the area could be a buffer zone between us and Byrd’s “flying objects”.
PDB
/ 28th October 2016Has the great Maori nation given their permission? Before the Europeans showed up Maori used to pop down there for a quick weekend fish. Now wheres my calculator………
PartisanZ
/ 28th October 2016Never mind your calculator PDB … reach for your copies of ‘Tribes, Treaty, Money, Power’ and ‘One Treaty, One Nation’ from Kiwi FrontLine …
Nothing a good literary and historical, pseudo-scienific, figurative lynching won’t fix ….
Maggy Wassilieff
/ 28th October 2016It’s not being protected in the long-term…. there’s a 35 year limit on the proposal to create the MPA.
PartisanZ
/ 28th October 2016That seems reasonable Maggy … It gives time to prepare the necessary drilling and fracking equipment for various extractive industries, and by then it should be a considerably warmer environment to work in down there too …
Maggy Wassilieff
/ 28th October 2016Oh! perish the thought.
PartisanZ
/ 28th October 2016Perish the thought hasn’t stopped us doing it anywhere else …