Aussies hopeful of support for Antartica sanctuary

Protect ing marine life: A file photo taken on March 10, 2014, shows a view of penguins on an iceberg in front of Brazil

SYDNEY: Australia is hopeful of winning support for its plan to create a vast marine reserve off east Antarctica, after revising the proposal to make it smaller.

Australia, France and the European Union first put forward a bid for a 1.9 million sq km Marine Protected Area (MPA) encompassing seven stretches of the pristine wilderness in 2011, but it was knocked back last year.