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 The Kermadec ocean sanctuary, in the South Pacific and spanning 620,000 sq km, expands an existing reserve surrounding the Kermadec Islands 
 
 New Zealand's new ocean sanctuary will be one of world's largest protected areas 
 
 New Zealand will create one of the largest marine protected areas in the world, spanning an area of 620,000 sq km. 
 
 The Kermadec ocean sanctuary will be one of the world’s most significant fully protected ecosystems, the prime minister of New Zealand, John Key, told the UN general assembly in New York. 
 
 The sanctuary is in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1000km north-east of New Zealand, and expands a marine reserve that surrounds a clutch of small islands. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Kermadec ocean sanctuary. Photograph: NZ Ministry of Environment/EPA 
 
 The area is considered crucial in terms of biodiversity, featuring nearly 35 species of whales and dolphins, 150 types of fish and three of the world’s seven sea turtle species. It is also geologically significant, encompassing the world’s longest chain of submerged volcanoes and the second deepest ocean trench, plunging to 10km underwater – deeper than Mount Everest is tall. 
 
 The scale of the sanctuary will dwarf any previous New Zealand protected area, spanning twice the size of the country’s landmass. It will cover 15% of New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone. 
 
 Commercial and recreational fishing will be completely banned, as will oil, gas and mineral prospecting, exploration and mining. Key’s government aims to pass legislation establishing the sanctuary next year. 
 
 “The Kermadecs is a world-class, unspoiled marine environment and New Zealand is proud to protect it for future generations,” Key said. 
 
 “New Zealanders value our coasts and oceans, which are an important part of our culture, economy and environment and we are committed to managing them sustainably. 
 
 “Creating protected areas will support not only our own fisheries, but those of our Pacific neighbours, adding to New Zealand’s efforts to help grow Pacific economies through the responsible management of their ocean resources.” 
 
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 Nick Smith, New Zealand’s environment minister, said the sanctuary might impose a cost upon the mining industry but it was important to protect the ocean before exploration took place. 
 
 “New Zealand needs to use its vast ocean resources for jobs and exports with industries like fishing, aquaculture, minerals and energy, but we also need to set aside special areas where nature comes first and marine life is fully protected,” Smith said. 
 
 New Zealand will monitor the area via its navy and satellite technology. The Kermadec region will join three other key areas in the Pacific protected by the US, UK and Australia, with the four reserves covering 3.5m sq km of the ocean. 
 
 Matt Rand, director of the Pew Charitable Trust’s global ocean legacy campaign, welcomed Key’s announcement. 
 
 “New Zealand will create the gold standard of conservation areas in the Kermadecs, preserving one of the few relatively unspoiled areas of ocean on Earth,” he said. 
 
 “This commitment is an exciting step toward meeting global goals to safeguard at least 30% of the ocean through fully protected marine reserves.” ||||| (CNN) New Zealand is creating one of the world's largest fully protected ocean sanctuaries, twice the size of the nation itself, the country's prime minister announced on Monday. 
 
 "This is an area twice the size of our land mass and 50 times the size of our largest national park. It is truly a special place and we want to keep it that way," prime minister John Key said at a United Nations summit on Monday. 
 
 The 620,000 square kilometre (about 240,000 square miles) ocean sanctuary is in the Kermadec region, to the northeast of New Zealand. 
 
 The area is 35 times larger than the country's existing marine reserves and includes the world's longest chain of submerged volcanoes and the second deepest ocean trench, the New Zealand government said 
 
 It's also home to several endangered sea turtle species, and serves as an important breeding and feeding ground for seabirds, whales and dolphins. 
 
 Balance with business 
 
 It's a major step in ocean conservation that has been lauded by environmental groups. Unlike a marine reserve which allows for undersea cables, it will establish a no-take, fully protected zone that essentially limits all activities. 
 
 3 cheers for NZ's huge new Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary—home to critical creatures & habitat: http://t.co/0x5zvbSJlx 🎉🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/lxb5hMM2X6 — CA AcademyOfSciences (@calacademy) September 29, 2015 
 
 While Key admitted there will most likely be some impact on the fishing and mining industries, a substantial part of the New Zealand economy, he said the sanctuary had struck the the right balance with economic growth. 
 
 "The mining resources are potentially very, very large there because there are unknown quantities of silver and other resources there," Key said but, "on the other side of the coin, we are also trying to protect what is, from a geological perspective, a very important and significant part of the world." 
 
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 He added: "There's bound to be a mixture of emotions but for New Zealanders have a strong sense of wanting a good economy and one that creates jobs but also preserving our environment and our environmental credentiais. I think this is a nice balance between that." 
 
 Cynicism over carbon emissions 
 
 Business interests however aren't the only quibble. Some see this is as a maneuver to distract from the country's poor efforts to rein in carbon emissions. 
 
 "It's interesting timing for us," Bunny McDiarmid, executive director at Greenpeace New Zealand said. The establishment of a sanctuary had been under discussion for six years and she points out that it is 2015 Paris Climate Conference in early December. 
 
 The New Zealand government has outlined a plan to cut carbon emissions by 11% from 1990 levels by 2030, which pales in comparion to other countries that are aiming for cuts of around 30 to 40%. 
 
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 "They're going to Paris with a really bad proposal," McDiarmid said. 
 
 "On the one hand, they're establishing this wonderful area and on the one hand, they're completely undermining it with completely inadequate action on climate change," she said. 
 
 "Oceans will not be protected by it by calling it an ocean sanctuary. If the government is serious about these areas, they need a really strong climate plan and they don't have it." 
 
 Rising ocean temperature due to carbon emissions is causing coral to die off and higher acidity of waters creates an inhospital environment for marine life. 
 
 "If you think that's all that will take, then we are dreaming," McDiarmid said. "We need to have incredibly good climate agreement out of Paris."
– A marine reserve about 600 miles northeast of New Zealand will get much, much bigger if Prime Minister John Key has his way. Just how big? Well, the Kermadec ocean sanctuary will stretch for 240,000 square miles—an area twice the size of New Zealand's landmass—if government legislation to establish the fully-protected reserve passes next year, Key told a United Nations summit Monday. Given its massive size—the reserve will be one of the largest in the world and cover 15% of the country’s exclusive economic zone—it's no surprise it'll be home to some 35 species of whales and dolphins who breed there, 150 kinds of fish, and three species of sea turtle, reports the Guardian. But the sanctuary in the South Pacific will also house the world's longest chain of underwater volcanoes and an ocean trench so deep that it could hide Mount Everest. As a fully-protected sanctuary, there will be no fishing, mining, or oil, gas, and mineral prospecting allowed. "The mining resources are potentially very, very large there because there are unknown quantities of silver and other resources," Key says, per CNN. But it's more important "to protect what is, from a geological perspective, a very important and significant part of the world." Reactions online have been mostly positive, though the executive director of Greenpeace New Zealand suspects the announcement is to distract from the country's plan to cut carbon emissions by 11% from 1990 levels by 2030; other countries are pledging cuts of 30% to 40%. "On the one hand, they're establishing this wonderful area and on the one hand, they're completely undermining it," she says. If the sanctuary is established, 1.35 million square miles would be protected in the Pacific.