The United States Secretary of State has given verbal support to moves by New Zealand and Australia to establish marine sanctuaries in Antarctica.
John Kerry told a gathering of charitable trusts in Washington that the Antarctic should be protected because, in his words, it's a "collective of superlatives", the ABC reports.
The US and New Zealand have drawn up a proposal for a maritime sanctuary, and Australia is in a group pushing for a second, bigger one.
Both proposals were blocked at international talks last November, but will be re-addressed in July.
