Worst possible outcome for Ross Sea

Emerging reports that further protection of the Ross Sea is being shelved to appease big fishing interests are extremely disappointing, Labour's Associate Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Maryan Street says.

"The possibility that the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), currently meeting in Hobart, will not arrive at agreement today is deeply concerning.

"News earlier this week that New Zealand and the United States had arrived at an accommodation over the size and nature of additional protections was welcomed, but the blocking of progress now by other countries with large fishing interests comes as a blow to those who had high hopes for advancing the protection of this pristine environment.

"There are treaties and regulations in place in the Ross Sea and it is an area which is heavily monitored and observed so it won't be left completely unprotected if these talks fail, but this was an opportunity to modernise and expand the protections and to address future activities in the area," said Maryan Street.

"We always needed to see the words on the page before passing judgement on the environmental protections being hammered out by this meeting of CCAMLR, but no agreement at all in these talks is very disappointing,” said Maryan Street.