The first high seas MPA has been declared in the Antarctic, south of the South Orkney Islands. 

At just under 94,000 sq km, the South Orkneys MPA is of a significant size. Overnight the global area of protected waters, with this announcement, increases by 4% according to Louisa Wood, from the IUCN Global Marine Programme. The global area of protected waters now stands at 0.92% of the world ocean - still far behind the land with as much as 12% protected, according to some estimates.

The formal protection becomes effective in May 2010. No fishing activities and no discharge or refuse disposal from fishing vessels will be allowed in the area. The British Antarctic Survey plans to continue its research in the area, seeing the MPA designation as an opportunity to improve its monitoring of the effects of human activities and climate change on the Southern Ocean.

News article at http://www.wdcs.org/news_int.php?select=497