After years of diplomatic talks, the European Union and 24 other nations agreed Friday to establish the world’s largest marine reserve in Antarctica.
The deal protects 600,000 square miles of ocean, which is more than twice the size of Texas, near the Ross Sea ice shelf, banning all fishing in nearly three-fourths of the reserve. Scientists will still be allowed to catch small invertebrates for research in other designated areas.
The waters, which one ocean advocate calls the “polar garden of Eden,” are home to orcas, the colossal squid and multiple penguin species.
The United States and New Zealand have pushed to …read more
Source: PBS
