Australia Plans Mega Marine Reserves

SYDNEY - Australia plans to add an area of the Indian Ocean bigger than France or the U.S. state of Texas to its network of marine parks.

A reserve would be set up around Christmas Island, which is about 1,500 kilometers west of the Australian mainland. The island houses a high-profile Australian offshore immigration center for asylum seekers and is also well known for a spectacular annual migration of millions of red crabs. The region is the only known spawning ground for the critically endangered southern bluefin tuna. The other marine sanctuary would encompass the Cocos Keeling Islands. The coral archipelago is another Australian external territory and is home to about 600 residents. The islands lie about halfway between the city of Perth and the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka.