New Zealand is set to create a marine sanctuary in the South Pacific that covers 620,000 square kilometers (240,000 square miles) — an area about the size of France.
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will be about 620 miles off the northeast coast of New Zealand, and is home to thousands of species of whales, dolphins, seabirds and turtles, as well as the world's longest underwater volcanic arc and the second deepest ocean trench. The future sanctuary "is one of the most geographically and geologically diverse areas in the world," Prime Minister John Key said Monday. Scientists often find new marine species in the area, and with the sanctuary designation, fishing and mineral exploitation will be forbidden, Agence France-Presse reports. With this addition, there will be 3.5 million square kilometers (1.35 million square miles) of protected areas in the Pacific.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
