News

To the disappointment of many, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources was unable to pass proposals to turn Antarctica’s Ross Sea and East Antarctica’s sea into the world’s largest marine protected areas after Russia voted against them. 24 governments from around the world and the European Union met this week in Germany to vote on the proposals, which needed a unanimous vote to pass.

Russia, which has fishing fleets in the Ross Sea, said its reason for voting against the proposals was its uncertainty that the Commission has the legal authority to create marine protected areas in the first place. This was particularly baffling because the Commission had already established an MPA around the South Orkney Islands in 2009.

The United States and New Zealand put the Ross Sea proposal forward. It remains one of the world’s only untouched ecosystems and is particularly unique because it is dominated by large predators like whales, penguins, seals, and carnivorous fish. It is home to over a quarter of the world’s Adélie and emperor penguin populations.

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