Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on encouraging other members of the Antarctic Commission to accept an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary in the Weddell Sea.

The UK is a proactive member of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and is committed to establishing a representative network of marine protected areas around Antarctica. The UK is a co-proponent of the proposal to establish a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Weddell Sea, which was submitted by the European Union and its Member States to the annual meeting of the CCAMLR in 2016. UK scientists continue to lead on the development of the proposal, chairing an expert workshop earlier in the year. The finalised proposal will be tabled for adoption at the next annual CCAMLR meeting in October 2018. The UK will continue to work with other CCAMLR Members to secure agreement to the Weddell Sea MPA proposal, and further MPA proposals around East Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.