Northeast Atlantic countries create new protected sea area

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The governments of 15 countries in the Northeast Atlantic have created a new protected area of the sea they say is bigger than the combined area of Germany and the United Kingdom. The countries designated a marine protected area for seabirds covering nearly 600,000 sq. km.. It is part of their efforts to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity at sea. The protected area is viewed as a crucial area for local and migrating seabirds, for feeding and breeding. The meeting in Portugal also gave its blessing to new commitments on reducing the impact of climate change and ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, and pollution.