NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

NZ marine reserve bid blocked

Jamie Morton
By Jamie Morton
Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
1 Nov, 2013 04:12 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

NZ has failed in its bid to establish the world's largest marine reserve in Antarctica. Photo /Getty

NZ has failed in its bid to establish the world's largest marine reserve in Antarctica. Photo /Getty

A New Zealand-US bid to establish the world's largest marine reserve in Antarctica is understood to have been blocked by China, Russia and Ukraine.

It was the third time the 25 nations under the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) had failed to agree to establish a marine protected area in the fish-rich Ross Sea, 3500km south of New Zealand.

Radio New Zealand reported a consensus could not be reached despite negotiations going on into the early hours of the morning, with China, Russia and Ukraine unable to agree to the fishing restrictions and the size of the proposed 1.34 million sq km marine protection area.

New Zealand officials attending the talks in Hobart were yet to comment, but it was understood a fourth attempt to get agreement would be made this time next year.

Members of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, which had been holding demonstrations outside the talks, were waiting to hear confirmation of the breakdown.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The proposed reserve has been scaled back from 2.27 million sq km to 1.34 million sq km after a consensus could not be found at a special meeting of CCAMLR in Germany in July.

At that meeting, nations including Japan and Norway expressed concern about the permanence of a marine reserve in the Ross Sea.

New Zealand's updated proposal included a 50-year "sunset clause", which meant the reserve could be revised or scrapped if countries felt it was not working.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Associate Professor Clive Evans, of Auckland University's School of Biological Sciences, described today's failure as a "victory for political gamesmanship and a slap on the other cheek for New Zealand, the USA and indeed CCAMLR itself from components of its body corporate".

"One wonders just how much further the original proposal will need to be diluted to gain the necessary support of all CCAMLR members should yet another modified version go forward for a fourth reading in 2014," he said.

Dr Evans said the key issues appeared to centre around the failure of certain countries to recognise the long term ecological value of conservation measures vis a vis immediate commercial gain, and the significance of the science that underpinned the current proposal.

"These matters won't be resolved on a whim.

Discover more

New Zealand

NZ scientists pick up Antarctic research

10 Oct 02:48 AM
New Zealand

Southern Alps' ice levels show sharp decrease

11 Oct 04:30 PM
New Zealand|politics

Calls for conservation in Antarctic waters

19 Oct 11:37 PM
New Zealand|politics

Talks to resume over Ross Sea

20 Oct 04:30 PM

"If some meaningful measure of protection for the Ross Sea is to be attained in 2014 without a significant loss of fishing restrictions as to make the entire proposal risible, other members of CCAMLR are going to have to do more than just lobby hard in the interim.

"Clearly the conservation message just isn't getting across."

He said while the Ross Sea ecosystem might now take a "small step backward" as the talks dragged out, it would not collapse - yet.

"There is still time to protect this unique marine ecosystem and it behoves all conservation-spirited members of CCAMLR to ensure that the fourth time really is lucky."

Lincoln University lecturer Dr Victoria Metcalf meanwhile described the impasse as saddening and troubling, "but perhaps not unsurprising".

"Negotiations between such a large number of countries and with such diverse beliefs regarding treatment of the oceans and marine biota are incredibly complex and perhaps it is a case of being patient for these MPA's to hopefully eventuate in some form," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"However, in the meantime what about the marine biota in question? The cumulative impacts of fishing, climate change and ocean acidification continue to march on and there is no halt in their progression whilst talks stall again."

In particular, recent studies on the effects of ocean acidification had shown that the calcium carbonate would reach non optimal levels much sooner in Antarctic water than previously thought, just decades away.

"Thus, every year that there is added pressure from fisheries on these regions will in turn amplify the effects of other environmental variables such as ocean acidification on Antarctic marine ecosystems.

"As Antarctic marine biologists, we should be pushing for more science to be conducted to look at multifactorial impacts and these in turn need to be considered in future CCAMLR discussions."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Multiple fire trucks called to blaze in Auckland CBD

01 Jul 09:43 AM
New Zealand

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

01 Jul 08:10 AM
Politics

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

01 Jul 08:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Multiple fire trucks called to blaze in Auckland CBD

Multiple fire trucks called to blaze in Auckland CBD

01 Jul 09:43 AM

Fire and Emergency said crews were called to the incident just after 8.15pm.

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

Man charged in fatal South Auckland crash, further charges possible

01 Jul 08:10 AM
'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

'Until we meet again': Hundreds gather in Taihape to mourn 'peaceful leader'

01 Jul 08:00 AM
'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

'I am scared of drug money': Money launderer's staff complained cash was wet, sticky

01 Jul 08:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP