When Felix entered the dorm room, he was hopping and dancing with sheer joy. Looking at him, Verum, Scorch, and Orak also began dancing. Scorch said, “Yay! A spontaneous dance party!”
“But what is the reason, Felix?” said Orak as he struggled to catch his breath after all the excitement.
“The Australian government has confirmed that two new marine parks will soon be established. They will be set up in the Indian Ocean off Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands!” said Felix, “And guess what? These parks are said to be massive! Bigger than the state of Texas in the United States!”
These islands are about 2,000 miles away from the coast of Australia, making them a remote territory.
“Whoa,” said Orak in awe, “That is excellent news.”
“You see, Cocos (Keeling) Islands have two atolls. An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef island that surrounds a lagoon. A lagoon is a shallow body of saline water separated from a bigger water body by a narrow landform including a reef,” explained Felix, “On the other hand, Christmas Island is the tip of a 5,000-meter submarine volcano. It has an ocean dropoff (a cliff) that is home to many unique species. It also has rainforests where you can find the famous red crabs.
Being a coral reef, Cocos Islands also have diverse flora and fauna that is not found anywhere else in the world.”
“I have read that the coral reefs in Cocoas Islands are one of the last places where corals and reefs are in such a healthy condition,” said Orak, “This is definitely an important step.”
“Yes, and you want to know the best part?” said Felix.
“Of course!” said Verum.
“Offshore areas of the park will be kept under strict security to prevent international fishing which depletes the number of the existing species,” said Felix, “But local communities will be able to fish sustainably inshore!”
“Fantastic!” said Scorch.