CANBERRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek on Monday announced the expansion of the Macquarie Island Marine Park for world ocean protection.
Under the expansion, the park, sitting between Tasmania and Antarctica, will grow from 162,000 square km to 475,465 square km.
Sitting between Tasmania and Antarctica, Macquarie Island and the surrounding waters are home to some of the world's most iconic species including the endemic royal penguin and southern elephant seal.
Fishing, mining and other extraction activities will be banned in 93 percent of the park's new area in a bid to protect its unique biodiversity.
Plibersek said Macquarie Island, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997, is a critical breeding ground for millions of seabirds, seals and penguins.
"Australians understand that the health of our nation is bound up with the health of our natural world," Plibersek said in a statement.
"As Minister for the Environment, I am determined to protect more of what's precious, to repair more of what's damaged, and to manage nature better for the future." ■
