Australia will soon have the largest marine reserve in the world. Australian environment minister Tony Burke declared today (14 June 2012) that Australia will take a huge step in the protection of the oceans.

The new marine reserve will cover 3.1 million square kilomentres of ocean and coral sea and will set restriction on oil and gas exploration, and fishing. When the plans are approved after consultation, Australia will have increased its number of marine reserves from 27 to 60, a truly remarkable improvement.

However, there is still a largest marine reserve at present between the Chagos Island and the Indian Ocean, which is 545,000 sq kilometres and it was established by the UK.