Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to taking to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Antarctica.
James Duddridge
The UK is an active member of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (the Commission) established under the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. The Commission is an integral part of the Antarctic Treaty System. The Commission has established robust monitoring and enforcement both at sea and through port state controls to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated activities within the Convention Area.
HMS Protector patrols waters within the Convention Area and during 2015 undertook a circumnavigation of Antarctic waters, undertaking the Commission inspections in collaboration with Australian and New Zealand colleagues.
The UK undertook unprecedented action against illegal, unreported and unregulated practises during 2015 by tackling individuals and companies who derive economic benefit from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, going beyond those who are directly engaged in such activities. British insurance companies now undertake checks against regional fisheries bodies’ illegal, unreported and unregulated lists and Interpol databases, before any vessel insurance is agreed.
