The UK Government is to ban commercial fishing in a million square kilometre section of ocean around four islands in the Pacific and Atlantic. It will be one of the biggest marine protected areas on Earth - but campaigners say it could also have devastating consequences for local communities who depend on fish stocks that are already under threat. Also to be protected is 445,000 sq km around St Helena with areas around the south Atlantic islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha to be protected from 2019 and 2020 respectively. Experts said the large range required for such creatures meant large-scale marine protected areas would be a key part of addressing the problem. The news coincides with warnings from scientists, which we reported today, that humans' hunting and fishing is causing an unprecedented level of extinction in sea life.
The UK Government is to ban commercial fishing in a million square kilometre section of ocean around four islands in the Pacific and Atlantic. It will be one of the biggest marine protected areas on Earth - but campaigners say it could also have devastating consequences for local communities who depend on fish stocks that are already under threat. Also to be protected is 445,000 sq km around St Helena with areas around the south Atlantic islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha to be protected from 2019 and 2020 respectively. The news coincides with warnings from scientists, which we reported today, that humans' hunting and fishing is causing an unprecedented level of extinction in sea life.