Win for wildlife as krill fishing restricted across Antarctica

SYDNEY - Five major krill fishing companies on Tuesday agreed to halt operations across huge swathes of the Antarctic to help protect wildlife in a move hailed as "bold and progressive" by conservationists.

The vast frozen continent is home to penguins, seals, whales and other marine life with krill a staple food for many species.

But a combination of climate change and industrial-scale fishing has been hitting populations of the small crustacean, with potentially disastrous impacts on larger predators.