Leaders meet to try to pass a UN treaty to protect oceans - August 2022
World leaders will meet at the UN in New York later for more talks to save the world's oceans from overexploitation.
The UN High Seas Treaty has been through 10 years of negotiations but has yet to be signed.
If agreed, it would put 30% of the world's oceans into conservation areas by 2030.
Campaigners hope it will protect marine life from overfishing and other human activities.
Two-thirds of the world's oceans are currently considered international waters, which mean all countries have a right to fish, ship and do research there. But only 1.2% of these high seas, as they are referred to, are protected.
Rare endangered Hector's Dolphin surviving in Marine Protected Area - New Zealand
NZ dolphin survival boosted by Marine Protected Area
Hector's dolphins living off the
coast of Christchurch, New Zealand have benefitted from the area's special designation, say scientists. Researchers studied the animals, one of the world's most endangered species of dolphin, for 21 years. Their results show that the survival rate of the dolphins has increased by 5.4% since the Marine Protection Area (MPA) was declared. The findings are published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. "This is the first evidence that Marine Protected Areas can be effective for marine mammals. We found a significant improvement in the survival rate," said Dr Liz Slooten from the University of Otago who undertook the research. In 1988 the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary was established in the hope that resident dolphins would be protected from fatalities associated with the gillnet and trawling activities of the fishing industry. A team of ecologists conducted regular photo identification of the dolphins for 21 years, starting two years before the area was officially protected.
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