Two dozen nations and the European Union have agreed to set aside 600,000 square miles of ocean for protection near Antarctica,
creating the world’s largest marine park. The international agreement, which took more than five years to broker, will protect a large portion of the Ross Sea, located in the Southern Ocean. Scientists estimate that the Southern Ocean generates 75 percent of nutrients in the world’s oceans; it is also home to more than 10,000 species. Commercial fishing will be banned in the new marine park for 35 years, though scientists will be able to catch limited krill and other species in designated research zones. “The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area will safeguard one of the last unspoiled ocean wilderness areas on the planet — home to unparalleled marine biodiversity and thriving communities of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.
Adelie penguins in the Southern Ocean.