Victory!Earlier this year, I wrote about the Ross Sea ecosystem off the coast of Antarctica, and how
Victory!Earlier this year, I wrote about the Ross Sea ecosystem off the coast of Antarctica, and how it is in trouble due to unregulated overfishing of the Antarctic Toothfish (see that previous post here: http://bit.ly/2ffTp5F). I am happy to report that, as of Friday, it is set to become the world’s largest marine protected area. 24 countries unanimously agreed to the proposal after two weeks of discussion, and it means that fishing will no longer be allowed within the 1.1m sq km reserve as of December 1, 2017. That’s an area the size of France and Spain combined, or almost twice the size of Texas. This is amazing news! In my previous post, I explained that the Ross Sea ecosystem is one of the last untouched ocean wilderness’ on Earth. Its nutrient-rich waters are some of the most productive in the Antarctic. Huge blooms of plankton and krill support vast numbers of species, from icefish and crabeater seals, to Adelie penguins and Minke whales. In fact, it is thought that up to 16,000 species live here in an intricate, interconnected web of life.The Antarctic Toothfish lay at the centre of this web, and the high demand for its flesh - sold under the false name, Chilean Sea Bass - wrought havoc on the entire ecosystem. The passing of this agreement means that the Ross Sea ecosystem will be able to recover, survive, and thrive for years hereafter. More importantly, it shows that it is indeed possible for the world to cooperate on pressing issues, environmental or otherwise.VPReferences: http://bbc.in/2eJUP6NImage credit: Wikimedia commons (http://bit.ly/2eQQyOR) -- source link
#ross sea#overfishing#wilderness#antarctic#antarctica#adelie penguin#antarctic toothfish#environment#marine#protected#ecosystem