The Antarctic Ross Sea is the healthiest marine ecosystem on the planet – home to toothfish, seals, a range of penguins and a unique population of killer whale.
Lying south of New Zealand, it is vast, cold and largely untainted by human contact.
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After a landmark deal reached in Hobart on Friday, it will stay this way for at least the next 35 years. More than 50 countries including Australia, the US, China, Russia and members of the European Union agreed to make the Ross Sea the world's first large-scale marine park in international waters.
It means 1.55 million square kilometres of ocean – an area nearly twice the size of NSW – will be protected.
More than two-thirds of the park, including coastal areas, will be off limits for fishing. Some areas will be set aside for research, particularly into krill.
The deal comes after several years of stalled talks, with China and Russia opposed to the park. Beijing changed its position this year and Russian delegates relented during negotiations in Tasmania over the past fortnight.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had lobbied for the protected area, issued a statement saying it was further proof the world was finally starting to understand the urgency of threats facing the planet.
He said it followed years of scientific and policy work, intense negotiations and principled diplomacy.
"It happened because our nations understood the responsibility we share to protect this unique place for future generations," Mr Kerry said.
"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."
The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a collection of environmental and conservation groups, hailed the agreement as historic.
Andrea Kavanagh, from the Pew Charitable Trusts, said it was the first time that nations had agreed to protect a huge area of the ocean not within the jurisdiction of any individual country.
It happened because our nations understood the responsibility we share to protect this unique place for future generations.
US Secretary of State John Kerry
Alliance project director Mike Walker welcomed countries putting aside years of difference to reach the deal. But he warned limiting it to 35 years contradicted scientific advice that it should be long-term.
"We are confident that the significant benefits of protecting the Southern Ocean will soon be clear and the international community will act to safeguard this special place long into the future," he said.
The deal came as a meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Slovenia backed Australian proposals to increase scrutiny of Japan's controversial "scientific whaling" program and to make the commission operate more effectively.
The commission said the first change meant countries would need its approval to hunt whales for scientific research. Critics warned it would make little difference because the commission had no enforcement powers.
But Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, who represented Australia at the talks, said it meant Japan's program would be considered by the commission, not just a scientific committee.
He said it would increase pressure on Tokyo to end its whaling program.
"The message is clear: you don't need to kill whales to study them," he said.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, based in Hobart, has been meeting since 1980.
The agreement follows delegates from 129 countries at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature last month calling for the protection of 30 per cent of the planet's oceans by 2030.
Mr Frydenberg praised the perseverance of New Zealand and the US, which jointly proposed the Ross Sea protected area five years ago, and the will of all countries involved.
He said Australia's proposal for protected areas covering about one million square kilometres in East Antarctica would be considered next year. He said its role this year included helping ensure the sustainability of Southern Ocean krill.
"As a result krill catch limits will continue to be spread across the Antarctic Peninsula to meet the needs of penguins, flying seabirds and other marine mammals, while all krill fishing vessels will have full scientific observer coverage within the next five years," he said.
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