Russia and China conspired and voted against it for five years but at last the Ross Sea Region (Marine Protected Area) off the west coast of Antarctica became the world's largest protected marine area on Oct. 27.

Home to 10 mammal species; six bird species and 95 fish species, as well as many invertebrates, the Ross Sea remains relatively unaffected by human activities. The park is home to more than 10,000 unique species, including penguins, whales, seals, krill and giant squid.

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The park will come under protection on Dec. 1, 2017. This is the first time a marine park has been created in international waters.

According to the United Nations, 50 percent of ecotype-C killer whales (the smallest of the four types of Southern Hemisphere orcas); 40 percent of Adelie penguins and 25 percent of emperor penguins live in the new park that has an area of 1.6 million square kilometers.

New statutes will ban fishing in 1.1 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea. The remaining territory will be used as a research area with only a small amount of fishing allowed for scientific purposes.

Commercial fishing will still be allowed in the Ross Sea outside of the reserve's boundaries, and farther from critical breeding and feeding areas.

Twenty-four nations and the European Union agreed unanimously to declare the Ross Sea in Antarctica an official Marine Protected Area after negotiations brokered by the UN's Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

"The Ross Sea Region (Marine Protected Area) will safeguard one of the last unspoiled ocean wilderness areas on the planet -- home to unparalleled marine biodiversity and thriving communities of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The decision to establish the marine protected area ends five years of failed negotiations (mainly caused by China and Russia) among the 25 members of the CCAMLR.

In 2005, CCAMLR commissioned scientific analysis and planning for Marine Protected Areas in the Antarctic.

In July 2013, Russia voted against the proposal to turn the Ross Sea into an MPA, claiming the CCAMLR had no authority to do so. In 2014, Russia -- this time with ally, China -- again blocked the Ross Sea MPA. Russia and China again blocked the proposal in 2015.

It's because of Russia's and China's illogical obfuscation that the MPA will expire in only 35 years. Russia and China only agreed to the MPA in return for the 35 year limit, after which they will be free to fish and hunt in the Ross Sea.

TagsRoss Sea, Ross Sea Region (Marine Protected Area), United Nations, European Union, Russia, china