We care to conceive of the Antarctic continent as a vast uninfluenced landscape , free from the influence of man . One of the very last true frontier .
alas , while this might be reliable for much of the frigid Department of the Interior , the seas surround the southern continent are anything but pristine , and are frequently visited by fishing and whaling fleet . This has prompt environmentalists to propose a Brobdingnagian new wildlife reservefive times the size of Germany .
In an attempt to try and uphold as much of this beautiful but frail ecosystem , efforts are now underway to create the largest wildlife reserve in the mankind . The plan is to protect Brobdingnagian swath of water surround Antarctica , encompass an talkative 1.8 million straightforward kilometre ( 700,00 square miles ) of domain and sea around the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula .
The campaign is beingheaded by Greenpeace , following previous failure to consort on the solid marine protection of East Antarctica . The marriage proposal , which was submitted by the EU and already has serval nations ' championship – including Germany and the United Kingdom – is to be placed in front of the Antarctic nations at theCommission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resourcesconference in Australia in October .
The swelled threat to this region of Antarctica is the commercial fishing of krill , the small crustaceans that constitute the basis of many nutrient mountain chain in the part , which is mainly sold for Pisces food . From the mighty profane hulk to the streamlined penguin and , in turn , the Panthera pardus stamp that feed on them , krill bear out much of the sprightliness that thrives in the ice and blow .
“ From great blue whales to vast colonies of Emperor and Adélie penguin , Antarctic wildlife is already under acute pressure from climate variety and now industrial sportfishing vessel are vacuum-clean up the diminutive shrimp - like krill which Antarctic life relies upon,”explainedFrida Bengtsson , head of Greenpeace ’s south-polar campaign . “ The fishing industry simply ca n’t be allow to expand their operations and slip food from threaten penguin and whales . We now have a unique opportunity to verify that does n’t happen . ”
It is expect that the creation of the reserve will hinge on whether or not the three nation most heavily invested in the Antarctic krill fishery – China , South Korea , and Russia – can be persuaded to back it .
From the setoff , this might seem like a tricky affair to achieve , but similar ( albeit smaller ) reserves have already been created in Antarctica through international agreement , giving hope to those wanting to set up this new reserve .
