Australia creating world's biggest marine park

News24 further reports that the proposed Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve, off north-eastern Australia, will cover about 990 000 square kilometres, an area that is about one-and-a-half times the size of France.

Under the plan, oil and gas exploration would be banned in the area and new limits imposed on fishing. The area has an extensive array of coral reefs and deep-sea plains and canyons.

For more:

• News 24: Aus plans marine protection zone
  
• Environment.gov.au: Marine protected areas