There's a push for a huge marine protected area at Antarctica to be made permanent.

The Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area came into effect in December.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has just returned from Antarctica and says 72 percent of the region is protected from fishing but only for the next 35 years.

She says New Zealand has a major responsibility in leading work on a research and monitoring plan to measure the effectiveness of the MPA.

Eugenie Sage says it'll be critical to informing an international commission who'll decide on whether to extend the restrictions on fishing several decades from now.

The Ross Sea Region MPA is six times the size of New Zealand and is home to penguins, petrels, killer whales and seals.