Question: Which of the following sea has been declared as world’s largest marine protected area (MPA)?
(a) Orkney Islands southern shelf, South Atlantic
(b) Ross Sea, Antarctica
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of these
Ans: (b)
Related facts:
- On 28 October 2016 at the Meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart, Australia, all Member countries have agreed that the Ross Sea in Antarctica will become the world’s largest marine protected area (MPA).
- It will be the world’s largest marine protected area and covering 15.57 Lakhs square kilometers.
- The new MPA will come into force in December 2017 and will for 35 years.
- Under the new rules, around 72 percent of the Ross Sea will be a ‘no-take’ zone which forbids all fishing, while other sections will permit some harvesting of fish and krill for scientific research.
- The world’s first high-seas MPA was designated in 2009, covering the South Orkney Islands southern shelf, an area of 94 000 km2 in the South Atlantic.
- Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources.
- MPAs aim to provide protection to marine species and can assist in rebuilding fish stocks and sustaining biological diversity.
Reference:
https://www.ccamlr.org/node/92518
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37789594
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/28/worlds-largest-marine-protected-area-declared-in-antarctica/