Chagos marine reserve formed

The world's largest fully protected marine reserve comes into being today in the British territorial waters of the Chagos Archipelago, in the Indian Ocean.

The 544,000sq km Chagos reserve is home to the critically endangered hawksbill turtle, as well as green sea turtles, dolphins and one of the world's largest coral reefs, with more than 1200 species of coral and fish.

Marine life there has been hit hard by overfishing, so a patrol vessel will police the waters to ensure the new fishing ban is not breached.

The Zoological Society of London estimates that, over the past five years, around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays and many other species have been caught there as fishing "by-catch".