THE GREEN PLANET BLOG - Our World and Environment...: Russia has blocked a deal on Antarctic marine reserves...

English: Mt Herschel (3335m asl) from Cape Hallet with Seabee Hook penguin colony in Foreground. Antarctica. Français : Le Mont Herschel (3335 m) vu du cap Hallet. Au premier plan, la manchotière de Seabee Hook. Antarctique. Une carte du lieu est disponible sur Wikipedia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Iceberg with a resting group of Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae); the iceberg consists of blue ice, indicating that this is very old ice from deeper parts of the Antarctic ice sheet. Image was taken in the northern part of the Weddell Sea, Southern Ocean, Antarctica during expedition ANT-VIII/3 of the german research vessel POLARSTERN. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The proposed protected zone in the Ross Sea is home to a large proportion of the world's Adelie penguins

International talks on establishing huge marine reserves in Antarctica have failed to reach a consensus.

Russia blocked attempts by western countries to set up the protected areas in the Ross Sea and Eastern Antarctica.

The Russian representative challenged the legal basis that would allow for the creation of such reserves, according to organisations at the talks in Germany.

The proposal was previously scuppered when governments met in 2012.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is made up of countries with an interest in the Southern Ocean, and includes Australia, the US, the UK, China and Russia among its members. Any decisions taken require consensus among all parties.

This meeting in Bremerhaven has been called to deal specifically with proposals for the establishment of reserves that would ban fishing and protect species including seals and penguins. If successful the plans would more than double the area of the world's oceans that are protected.