8 Nations Agree to Arctic Fishing Ban

The world's largest fishing nations are agreeing to a moratorium on commerical fishing in the central Arctic Ocean for the next 16 years.  

The goal of the ban is to give scientists time to study the current ecosystem and the potential impacts of climate change.

The effort also hopes to prevent overfishing as lower levels of sea ice are drawing more fishing fleets to the region.  

The agreement was signed by the U.S., Canada, Russia, China, the EU, Japan, Iceland, Denmark and South Korea. 

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