Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of areas beyond national jurisdiction is covered by (a) regional seas agreements (b) regional fisheries management organisations and (c) other relevant instruments which are legally mandated to establish marine protected areas where the most important environmental impacts are effectively addressed.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold details of the proportion of areas beyond national jurisdiction covered by these arrangements. The United Nations Environment Programme has oversight of the 13 Regional Seas programmes. There are also five other “partner programmes” and the UK is a leading member in two of these – the Antarctic Treaty System and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention). It is also an observer in the Arctic Council.
There are six Regional Fisheries Management Organisations which manage highly-migratory species and ten of which manage fish stocks by geographical area. Each Regional Fisheries Management Organisation has its own underpinning international legal agreement with different powers. The UK does not participate in every Regional Fisheries Management Organisation and we do not hold details of each of their powers. In general, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations cannot create Marine Protected Areas, but some do implement fisheries closures to protect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources does have the legal power to establish Marine Protected Areas and has designated the South Orkney Marine Protected Area.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) promote the protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and (b) ensure that the agreed commitment to establish marine protected areas in 10 per cent of the world's oceans by 2020 is effectively implemented in such areas.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is fully committed to promoting the protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Without prejudice to Article IV of the Antarctic Treaty 1959, in 2009 the UK led negotiations within the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources which resulted in the establishment of the world’s first high-seas Marine Protected Area (MPA) covering 94 000 km2. The UK supports the establishment of further MPAs within the area covered by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and is working closely with members to designate MPAs in the Ross Sea, East Antarctic and the Weddell Sea.
The UK is a leading member of the OSPAR Commission which has designated 7 MPAs in the high seas of the North-East Atlantic and works closely with other regional and international organisations to manage these.
We are a signatory to the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea 2014, which established the Sargasso Sea Commission to encourage and facilitate voluntary collaboration toward the conservation of the Sargasso Sea.
We support the work of the International Seabed Authority in establishing Areas of Particular Environmental Interest in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. We also support the work of the International Maritime Organisation in identifying “Special Areas” which benefit from additional pollution protection and “Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas” which may benefit from specific measures to control certain maritime activities.