WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the nations have agreed to a U.S. and New Zealand proposal to protect an area more than twice the size of Texas in the Ross Sea. He said it will be the world’s largest marine protected area.
The European Union along with the 24 other countries involved in the decision-making process have been meeting in Australia this week. The U.S. and New Zealand have been pushing for a marine reserve for years, but such decisions require a consensus. Russia has been a holdout in the past.
McCully said the marine protected area would cover 1.6 million square kilometers (0.62 million square miles), of which three-quarters would be a no-fishing zone.