World's largest Marine Protected Area declared in Antarctica

24 countries and the European Union have unanimously agreed to create the world's largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the ocean next to Antarctica. The deal was clinched after the meeting of Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) consisting of 24 countries and European Union in Hobart, Australia.

After the meeting, New Zealand Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, announced that, the CCAMLR have unanimously agreed to designate the Ross Sea as a Marine



Protected area (MPA). He said, it will be the world's largest marine protected area and covers 1.6 million square kilometers. McCully said there will be a blanket ban on commercial fishing across about three quarters of that area for 35 years.

The agreement comes after years of diplomatic wrangling and high-level talks between the US and Russia, which has rejected the idea in the past.Environmentalists have welcomed the move to protect the Earth's most pristine marine ecosystem.