- Antartica’s Ross Sea was declared as world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) to protect the Earth’s most pristine marine ecosystem
- The Ross Sea is one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the world. It covers 1.6 million square kilometers
- MPA status to Ross Sea will bring blanket ban on commercial fishing across about three quarters of its area for 35 years.
- Ross Sea in the Southern Ocean is home to 38% of the world’s Adelie penguins, 30% of world’s Antarctic petrels and around 6% of world’s population of Antarctic minke whales.
- It is also home to huge numbers of krill, a staple food for species including whales and seals