International negotiators have established the world’s largest "marine protected area" off the coast of West Antarctica. It is the first of its kind to be established in international waters.

On Oct. 28, the EU and 24 nations of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, known as CCAMLR (pronounced “Cammelar”) agreed to protect 600,000 square miles of the Ross Sea — an area perhaps best known for its emperor penguins. Now, some of the richest and most pristine parts of the southern ocean will be off-limits for fishing and development for the next 35 years.

“It's hugely important. It's historic,” says Mike Walker, program director for the Antarctic Ocean Alliance. “It is not just the largest marine protected area in the world now, but it's historic in that it is the first in the high seas — that is, the waters outside of any national jurisdiction.”

The Ross Sea is considered to be the healthiest body of water on the planet, says Walker. “Human impact has been minimal,” he notes. “There still is some [impact], of course, but it has been minimal, and so that's certainly one of the reasons why it is so healthy.” Keeping it pristine will have a great effect on the health of the ocean, globally, Walker adds.

Of the 1.5 square kilometers that has been designated as a marine protected area, approximately 1.1 million square kilometers are going to be what's called “fully protected.” Walker explains that means "nothing extracted.” Two smaller zones, one just over 100,000 square kilometers and the other just over 300,000 square kilometers, will allow for research, limited research fishing of krill and fishing of the lucrative toothfish.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Ross Sea marine protected area was first proposed by New Zealand and the United States in 2012. CCAMLR operates on a system of consensus in which all members have to agree, so at that point, it was a matter of winning the support of the other 23 members, Walker says.

When the annual CCAMLR meeting ended in October 2014, China and Russia were still blocking the proposal. In the last 24 hours of the 2015 meeting, China gave their support. So, everyone knew 2016 was going to be all about persuading Russia.

“For the last 12 months, there has been considerable discussion and negotiation and outreach towards Russia, at various levels,” Walker says. “Negotiations or discussions happened at the highest level. John Kerry made it known in his concluding remarks to our ocean conference in Washington back in September, that he had been involved in negotiation with his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on a number of occasions, and also had been in discussions with President Vladimir Putin. So, that gives a sense of the intensity, but also the height of the engagements and the political process required to get a decision like this made.”

Walker regrets the unusual sunset clause of 35 years, but believes it was the only way to reach an agreement. “The negotiations were very difficult and very long,” he points out. “It is the first time, and I think there could just be ... a degree of caution. A 35-year duration is a product of erring on the side of caution.”

A couple of other proposals, one concerning the Weddell Sea and the other, East Antarctica, are under discussion within CCAMLR, Walker says. “They will be considered again at next year's CCAMLR meeting, so certainly we hope that last week's decision will create an impetus for additional designations. ... We also expect that by the time CCAMLR meets again next October, there will be a third proposal for the Antarctic peninsula.

“CCAMLR has committed to putting in place a whole system,” Walker adds. “That means up to nine marine protected areas. So, what we hope, by last week's decision, is that it creates that impetus and also the confidence amongst the 24 countries and the EU — an appetite, even — for further designations.”

This article is based on an interview that aired on PRI’s Living on Earth with Steve Curwood.