Australia creates world's largest marine reserve network

Australia has created the world's largest network of marine reserves and will restrict fishing and oil and gas exploration in a major step to safeguard the environment and access to food.

      The area will cover 3.1m sq km (1.2m sq miles) of ocean including the entire Coral Sea, and encompass a third of the island continent's territorial waters.

     The environment minister, Tony Burke, said the government expected to pay an estimated 100m Australian dollars to the fishing industry in compensation for the new restrictions on their operations that will take effect late this year.

     Highly protected areas such as the Coral Sea off Australia's north-eastern coast and the adjoining World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reefwill also be protected from oil and gas exploration. Both areas, which cover a total 1.3m sq km, have shallow reefs that support tropical ecosystems with sharks, coral, sponges and many fish species.

     The numbers of marine reserves off the Australian coast will be increased from 27 to 60.

      

                        Australian environment minister Tony Burker on the new reserves