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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's letter of 6 January, what action has been taken to prevent illegal and unregulated fishing in the Southern Oceans by means of (a) direct action through management of the fisheries around South Georgia and (b) the United Kingdom's involvement in the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources with particular reference to the South Atlantic tooth-fish. [87182] Mr. Tony Lloyd: The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) continues to enforce rigorously the fisheries licensing regime in the waters of its maritime zone, through a variety of means, including the presence of Fisheries Protection Vessels and aerial surveillance. The GSGSSI incorporates into its fishing licence conditions regulatory measures agreed under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). New measures adopted in November 1998 at CCAMLR XVII, to address illegal and unregulated fishing, came into effect in time for the current fishing season in South Georgia. CCAMLR Parties are negotiating a catch documentation scheme to track international trade in tooth-fish and prevent imports of fish taken illegally. This scheme, plus additional measures, will be discussed further at CCAMLR XVIII in October. The UK has been actively involved in these negotiations. We will press for an early introduction of such a scheme.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

333 c252-3W; 87182

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Conservation Fisheries Licensing Fish Protection Seas and oceans Territorial waters South Sandwich Islands South Georgia Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources