Australian Environment minister Tony Burke signed into force on Monday a two-year ban on any super trawler operating in the small pelagic fishery. The ban is based on a battery of new laws and seems directed to the arrival to Australia of the Dutch vessel Abel Tasman.
Australia says it will create the world's largest network of marine parks ahead of the Rio+20 summit. The reserves will cover 3.1 million sq km of ocean, including the Coral Sea.
The Australian government filed a written submission at the International Court of Justice in Netherlands calling for an end to Japan's Antarctic whaling program on the grounds that it breaches the international ban on commercial whaling. Australia made the official presentation of its case Monday at the ICJ.