May 14, 2021 Share
Australia plans to add an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France or the U.S. state of Texas to its network of marine parks.
A reserve would be set up around Christmas Island, which is about 1,500 kilometers west of the Australian mainland. The island houses a high-profile Australian offshore immigration center for asylum seekers and is also well known for a spectacular annual migration of millions of red crabs.
The region is the only known spawning ground for the critically endangered southern bluefin tuna.
The other marine sanctuary would encompass the Cocos Keeling Islands. The coral archipelago is another Australian external territory and is home to about 600 residents. The islands lie about halfway between the city of Perth and the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka.
Australia Plans Mega Marine Reserves
Voice of America
14 May 2021, 19:05 GMT+10
SYDNEY - Australia plans to add an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France or the U.S. state of Texas to its network of marine parks.
A reserve would be set up around Christmas Island, which is about 1,500 kilometers west of the Australian mainland. The island houses a high-profile Australian offshore immigration center for asylum seekers and is also well known for a spectacular annual migration of millions of red crabs.
The region is the only known spawning ground for the critically endangered southern bluefin tuna.
The other marine sanctuary would encompass the Cocos Keeling Islands. The coral archipelago is another Australian external territory and is home to about 600 residents. The islands lie about halfway between the city of Perth and the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka.
by Mongabay.com on 13 May 2021
The Australian government has moved to create two new marine protected areas that cover an expanse of ocean twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The two parks will be established around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean to the northwest of continental Australia.
The new parks, which cover to 740,000 square kilometers (286,000 square miles) of ocean, raise the protected share of Australia’s oceans from 37% to 45%.
The decision was immediately welcomed by conservation groups.
The Australian government has moved to create two new marine protected areas that cover an expanse of ocean twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.