U.S. backs reserve area in NZ fishing zone

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. government said it submitted a proposal to regulators to establish a protected area for an Antarctica region of the Ross Sea.

The U.S. State Department said the proposal was sent Sept. 7 to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. The proposal would cover an area encompassing 700,000 square miles of the region.

The State Department said the area is a sensitive habitat for penguin, seal and killer whale species.

"The (proposal) would establish a large area of the Ross Sea as a fully protected no-fishing zone to preserve the ecosystem and serve as a scientific reference area for studying the effects of fishing and climate change," the department said in a statement.

The New Zealand Herald reports that Cabinet ministers expressed concerns about the proposal. The fishing industry in New Zealand exported roughly $20 million worth of fish from the Ross Sea last year.

The State Department said some sections of the Ross Sea would remain open to fishing under the proposal. Member states to the marine resources commission for Antarctica are expected to review the U.S. proposal in October during a conference in Australia.