A huge marine reserve will be created in the Ross Sea in Antarctica, a meeting in Australia has agreed.

New Zealand foreign minister Murray McCully said the nations that decide the fate of Antarctica have agreed to a US and New Zealand proposal to protect an area more than twice the size of Texas.

He said it will be the world's largest marine protected area, covering 1.6 million square kilometres, and three-quarters will be a no-fishing zone.

The 24 countries and the European Union have been meeting in Australia this week. The US and New Zealand have been pushing for a marine reserve for years, but such decisions require a consensus. Russia has objected in the past.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.