Should Antarctica’s Ross Sea be designated as a marine protected area? Political leaders in New Zealand Australia, and now the United States agree that this stronghold of biodiversity deserves protection under the law. At a reception sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts at National Geographic headquarters, the trio of nations announced their intention to co-sponsor an international plan for providing Ross Sea with the protection it needs.
Plans Underway for Protecting this “Living Laboratory”
New Zealand’s former prime minister and current Ambassador to the United States, Mike Moore, points out that his nation has long held a historic role with regard to research and expeditions, as New Zealand is often called “gateway to the ice” for its ability to serve as an important staging area for Antarctic expeditions of various types. Recently, the nation’s fishermen protested plans to designate the Ross Sea as a marine sanctuary for fear that they would lose access to Chilean Sea Bass (toothfish) there; however, the government and the fishermen were able to reach a compromise. Moore told reporters that the proposed MPA will include a no-take zone and a managed fishery area.
With this hurdle crossed, plans are now underway for a marine protected area that if enacted, would become the world’s largest – roughly nine times the area of New Zealand, which is just about three and a half times the area of the state of Texas. The no-take zone is to be about six times the size of New Zealand, or four times the size of the state of California.
US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed and urged others to support plans for the Ross Sea Antarctic Ocean Reserve. Calling the Ross Sea a “living laboratory” in urgent need of protection, he noted that scientists have made new discoveries in recent years and he went on to stress that the Antarctic continent should remain dedicated to “peace and learning.”
Finally, Kerry added that humanity “disrespects at our peril,” and he ended his comments by reminding the audience of the many problems facing our planet’s oceans, from global warming to acidification, pollution, and overfishing.
Karen Sack of the Pew Charitable Trusts reminded listeners that the Ross Sea is a wilderness still, but that it is rich in biodiversity. She briefly spoke of the countless species that make their homes in the proposed marine protected area; these include about 26% of the planet’s Emperor Penguins and about 38% of the Adelie Penguin population.
Insiders are working feverishly to get other nations onboard; in July, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which includes the European Union and a group of 24 other countries will be meeting in Bremerhaven, Germany, where they will vote on proposed marine protected areas not just in the Ross Sea, but also in East Antarctica. Says Sack, “This summer we have an opportunity to protect key areas, but we only have a few months left to secure support for parks linking the Great Southern Ocean.”