Marine Connection welcomes the news that the UK Government supports the establishment of a huge wildlife reservation in Antarctica – approx. five times the size of Germany.
Covering around 1.8m kilometres, it would be the largest nature reserve of its type and have a positive effect for not only marine wildlife including blue whales, orcas, seals, and penguins but also climate change. Establishing the sanctuary would mean that all fishing vessels would be banned from large areas of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, however, the decision ultimately rests with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, a group established to protect the seas around the Antarctic. A decision on the reserve will also hinge on whether or not the three nations most heavily invested in the Antarctic krill fisheries – China, South Korea, and Russia – can be persuaded to back it.
A resolution on the wildlife reserve will be discussed at a meeting in Hobart at the end of October.
