Russia has again thwarted attempts to create the world's largest ocean sanctuary in Antarctica, the final country opposing the protection of a vast swath of rich waters from fishing, after a revised international plan won support from China.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) ends a 10-day meeting in Hobart, Australia, on Friday without the consensus needed for a deal to conserve and manage the marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean.
While Russia blocked conservation proposals for a fifth consecutive time, delegates welcomed China's support for the revised Marine Protection Area (MPA) in the icy but fertile Ross Sea put forward by the United States and New Zealand.