Vast 1.8m sq km fishing-free zone would
protect species, such as penguins, leopard seals and whales, and help mitigate
the effects of climate change
Sat 13 Jan 2018 08.01 GMTLast
modified on Mon 15 Jan 2018 15.31 GMT
A global campaign is being launched to turn a
huge tract of the seas around the Antarctic into the world’s biggest sanctuary,
protecting wildlife and helping the fight against climate change.
The huge 1.8m sq km reserve – five times the
size of Germany – would ban all fishing in a vast area of the Weddell Sea and
around the Antarctic Peninsula, safeguarding species including
penguins, killer whales, leopard
seals and blue whales.
The idea was originally put forward by the EU
and is being backed by a new Greenpeace campaign to be launched on Monday. The
proposal already has the support of several countries – including the UK – and
will go before a conference of the
Antarctic nations in October.
Will McCallum, of Greenpeace’s new Protect
the Antarctic campaign, said: “The next few years are absolutely essential for
the future of our oceans and we are in desperate need for governments to come
together and do what is best for these amazing ecosystems.”
He said a decision in 2016 to create a
smaller sanctuary
around the Ross Sea in the Antarctic proved global cooperation to
protect the oceans is possible.
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