Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect the biodiversity of those waters to the north of Ascension Island which are open to fishing.

Through the Blue Belt Programme, the UK Government is working with the Ascension Island Government to ensure the effective implementation of its sustainable fisheries management regime around Ascension. This includes using near real-time analysis of satellite data to build intelligence on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and to allow targeted enforcement during fishery patrols. Data collected will be used in conjunction with research currently underway as part of a scientific approach to determine the final size and location of any Marine Protected Area around Ascension. We are also working through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas to improve regional management and ensure sustainable harvest levels of tuna, billfish and pelagic shark, species.