. Earth Science News .




.
WATER WORLD
Australia plans world's biggest marine protection zone
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Nov 25, 2011


Australia plans to establish the world's biggest marine protection zone to safeguard a huge swathe of the Coral Sea, a biodiversity hotspot brimming with life, the government said Friday.

The proposed Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve off the northeast of Australia would cover about 990,000 square kilometres (380,000 square miles) -- an area more than one-a-half times the size of France.

"Australia's vast oceans provide a source of food and resources and are a place of recreation. But we cannot afford to be complacent," Environment Minister Tony Burke said.

Under the plan, which the Australian government says will be the biggest marine protection area in the world, oil and gas exploration would be banned and new limits imposed on fishing.

The environmental significance of the Coral Sea within Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone lay in its diverse array of coral reefs, sandy cays and deep-sea plains and canyons, Burke said.

"There is no other part of Australia's territory where so much comes together -- pristine oceans, magnificent coral, a military history which has helped define us and now a clear proposal for permanent protection," he said.

A recent study found that the Coral Sea, which stretches from the Great Barrier Reef to the waters of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, was home to many unique and endangered species.

It is also one of the last remaining places on the planet brimming with large predatory fish such as sharks and tuna.

Burke said the side of the reserve closest to Australia's coast had taken into account recreational and charter fishing, and the proposed reserve was remote, with the nearest point 60 kilometres from the shore.

Environmental groups, which have pushed for the Coral Sea to be safeguarded, said the proposal was a good start but fell short of fully protecting the area's fragile coral reefs and spectacular marine life.

"We welcome the exclusion of oil and gas extraction and the ban on fishing gear that destroys seafloor habitats," Imogen Zethoven of the Pew Environment Group said.

"However, protection levels need to be stronger, particularly in vulnerable areas, to ensure the Coral Sea's long-term protection."

James Cook University Professor Terry Hughes said it was a welcome step towards protecting "one of the last remaining wild places in the sea" but that under the proposal, fishing would be banned in only 51 percent of the park.

The government will hold a three-month consultation period before making its final decision.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries


Libya seizes Italian fishing trawler: ministry
Rome (AFP) Nov 26, 2011 - Libyan authorities have detained an Italian fishing boat, the foreign ministry in Rome said on Saturday, following months of civil conflict during which European trawlers fished in Libyan waters.

"A fishing trawler has been taken by the Libyan authorities," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the Italian embassy in Tripoli had been activated "to promote a positive solution to this incident".

The ministry also said a second trawler "has been the object of attention of Libyan authorities", without specifying whether it had been detained.

An Italian trawler was seized on November 16 in the first such incident since Moamer Kadhafi's ousting. It was released four days later.

"We ask that the crews and boats be released immediately," Raffaele Lombardo, the governor of Sicily, said in a statement.

Coast guard officials cited by Italian news agency ANSA said the boats had been fishing in the Gulf of Sirte around 40 nautical miles (46 miles, 74 kilometres) from Misrata and one of them had four Italians on board.

Environmental groups and officials say European trawlers have taken advantage of the chaos in Libya this year to carry out illegal fishing in Libyan waters, particularly for prized bluefin tuna.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



WATER WORLD
Bleak future for Bay area tidal marshes?
San Francisco, CA (SPX) Nov 24, 2011
A new study, led by PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO), projects a bleak future for San Francisco Bay's tidal marshes under high-end sea-level rise scenarios that are increasingly likely. PRBO and colleagues found that in the worst case scenario 93% of San Francisco Bay's tidal marsh could be lost in the next 50-100 years [with 5.4 feet or 1.65 meters of sea-level rise, low sediment availability a ... read more


WATER WORLD
Thai minister survives flood censure vote

Japan nuclear plant director sick: company

Misery lingers for Bangkok's 'forgotten' flood victims

Central America storms caused $2 bln in damage

WATER WORLD
Carbon nanotube forest camouflages 3d objects

Kindle sales quadrupled on Black Friday: Amazon

New Light Cast on Electrons Heated to Several Billion Degrees By Lasers

Researchers reduce smartphones' power consumption by more than 70 percent

WATER WORLD
Plan for crucial Australian rivers draws anger

Australia plans world's biggest marine protection zone

Hong Kong's shark fin traders feel pressure to change

EBRD grants 123-million-euro loan for Croatia hydro station

WATER WORLD
Study: Arctic ice melting 'unprecedented'

Iceland says no to Chinese tycoon's land purchase: ministry

Carbon cycling was much smaller during last ice age than in today's climate

Gamburtsev Mountains enigma unraveled in East Antarctica

WATER WORLD
China govt under fire over new food bacteria rule

Hopkins Scientists Turn on Fountain of Youth in Yeast

Japan's rice farmers mull TPP future

Global commission delivers food security policy recommendations

WATER WORLD
19 hurricanes in third-most active Atlantic season

Faroe Islands hit by hurricane

Thailand counts cost of monster floods

Quakes hit Japan

WATER WORLD
South Sudan in fresh battle to disarm civilians

Ethiopia dragged back into Somali quagmire

French soldiers join hunt for hostages seized in Mali

Gambia's Jammeh headed for landslide poll win

WATER WORLD
Scientists Uncover New Role for Gene in Maintaining Steady Weight

New evidence of interhuman aggression and human induced trauma 126,000 years ago

Mimicking the brain, in silicon

Moderate drinking and cardiovascular health: here comes the beer


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement