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Sir Nicholas Bonsor: The United Kingdom Government will make every effort to do so. However, it is never easy to obtain a consensus among 26 parties, as the hon. Gentleman knows.
Tourism is related to that point and continues to grow in Antarctica. Almost 10,000 tourists visited the continent in the past austral summer--most by ship-borne cruises. All the information that I have seen suggests that the tourists behaved well. Those who visited British bases looked after them well and complied with the strict terms we have laid down about going ashore and what they were allowed to do when ashore. We insist that any waste that the tourists may produce has to be removed with them.
Tourism is a legitimate activity in Antarctica and, as the hon. Gentleman recognised, that will be the reality in the future. We could not ban tourism in that part of the world, but--as the hon. Gentleman said tonight and in July 1994--it needs to be controlled. Adequate means to do so are available. It will require effective implementation of the protocol, not the imposition of yet more regulations. We have the framework, but we must ensure that the framework is properly enforced.
The UK will provide the latest update on tourism to the forthcoming Antarctic treaty consultative meeting. We were a major partner this past season to a US programme to identify wildlife sites of major importance to tourism. The results of that will also be presented at the Utrecht meeting.
We are also keen to promote port state jurisdiction to ensure that rigorous standards can be met by vessels and aircraft going to Antarctica. Most of those leave from the so-called gateway ports, which include Stanley in the Falkland Islands in our jurisdiction.
United Kingdom domestic legislation already incorporates the concept of port state jurisdiction. We see merit in extending that to wider Antarctic communities and enforcing it in that region. That would ensure that comparable standards between gateway ports are maintained. That issue will be explored further with our Antarctic treaty partners.
The hon. Gentleman specifically asked me about the transfer of the Faraday base to the Ukraine. On 6 February, the UK base of Faraday was formally transferred to the
Government of Ukraine. That followed detailed, lengthy negotiations, in which all the points that the hon. Gentleman raised were confronted.
In a spirit of scientific co-operation under the Antarctic treaty, the UK offered Faraday to the international Antarctic community. Ukraine responded favourably and Ukraine scientists were integral to the Antarctic programme of the former USSR. The transfer will enable them to re-establish their commitment to Antarctica. The transfer will also help to reduce the escalation of bases in Antarctica--a feature much criticised in the past by environmental groups.
Most important, Ukraine has agreed to continue the acquisition of long-standing scientific data sets. Data will be provided free to the UK and to relevant international bodies for at least the next 10 years.
Once Ukraine has consolidated its science programme at Faraday, now renamed Vernadsky, we look forward to it, in due course, applying for consultative status to the Antarctic treaty. We also look forward to Ukraine acceding to the environmental protocol. I am glad to be able to tell the House that in the interim Ukraine has made it clear that it will abide by the tough obligations of the protocol.
The transfer of Faraday is part of a major rationalisation of the BAS programme, a major objective of which is to strengthen the survey's science base in the British Antarctic territory by capitalising on the new infrastructure put in place by the Government since the mid-1980s. That has included the new purpose-built bases at Halley and Rothera; the expansion of the BAS fleet of aircraft, including the acquisition of a De Havilland Dash 7 to operate direct between Falklands and Rothera; and the launch of the survey's highly sophisticated research vessel, the RRS James Clark Ross. I have not seen the ship but have seen a model of her, and she looks an extremely exciting vessel.
The "Way Forward" programme, which attracted an additional £4 million in the 1993 public expenditure survey round, enabled new laboratory and accommodation facilities to be constructed at Signy in the south Orkneys and expansion of further laboratories at Rothera. That building programme is well on schedule. The transfer of terrestrial ecology and inshore marine biology to the new facilities at Rothera will offer major new scientific challenges.
Mr. Corbyn:
There has been a large increase in the fur seal population on Signy. Is it affected by that development? If so, what is being done to protect the seals' ecosystem and stocks of food supplies?
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
I am not aware that the seal population has been affected, but I will check and write to the hon. Gentleman to confirm that opinion.
I refer next to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and to the convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources--which was not specifically raised by the hon. Member for Islington, North but is important in this context. I wrote to my hon. Friend for Uxbridge (Sir M. Shersby) on 22 March with a full explanation of our policy towards fishing around South Georgia. A copy of that letter has been placed in the Library. I am grateful for the additional opportunity to point out the steps that we have taken to ensure the
conservation of fish stocks around South Georgia--something to which I attach particular importance, as I do to the conservation of all stocks in the Antarctic sea area. I know that sentiment is shared by the hon. Gentleman.
We are in no doubt about our sovereignty over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and hence our right to exercise coastal state jurisdiction around the islands. Fishing in sub-Antarctic waters, including the waters around South Georgia, is regulated by a multilateral treaty--the convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources, or CCAMLR. The commission established by the convention adopts conservation measures binding on its member states, but the commission has no enforcement powers. It is left to flag states to ensure that their vessels comply with the conservation measures. The commission was established in 1980, but flag state enforcement of the conservation measures has been largely ineffective. Over-fishing continued throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s and was increasing.
Non-members of the convention are not bound by the conservation measures, but the convention recognises that parties to it with sovereign islands within its area of application may exercise coastal state jurisdiction in respect of those islands. Such jurisdiction may be exercised in respect of all vessels, including those of countries that are not parties to the convention.
In recognition of the continuing threat posed by over-fishing to the conservation of the fish stocks, a 200-nautical mile maritime zone was proclaimed in 1993 around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. A fisheries ordinance was enacted, which provides for comprehensive regulation of fishing within the zone. Licences are required for fishing there. Licences are granted only in a manner consistent with the conservation measures adopted by the CCAMLR commission.
Mr. Corbyn:
I mentioned the over-fishing of krill outside the designated 200-mile zone from South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Will the Minister confirm that that issue can be raised at the Utrecht meeting, or that there could be a separate meeting? If over-fishing of krill continues, the effect on other marine live and mammals will be enormous, and could have an ecological effect as devastating as over-whaling in the past, which led to the moratorium.
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
I fully share the hon. Gentleman's concern about the over-fishing of krill. It is a critical part of the ecological chain. Over-fishing of krill could have a devastating knock-on effect. I cannot guarantee that this is part of the Utrecht discussion--I am not sure, but I will look into it and let the hon. Gentleman know. It is certainly a matter of primary concern to the UK Government, and we are in constant dialogue with other countries affected whose fishing fleets might threaten the ecological balance. I can therefore give the hon. Gentleman the categorical assurance that the Government take the issue extremely seriously.
Argentina asserts that our licensing regime is a new development that impinges on the fishing activities of Argentine-flagged vessels. The licensing regime operated by the Government of the territory has been no different this season from that in force in the previous two seasons. Since the introduction of the
fisheries ordinance, all vessels have been required to obtain a licence before fishing in the waters around South Georgia. Unlicensed vessels are subject to arrest and prosecution.
This year it was apparent that a number of vessels, including several Argentine-flagged vessels, intended to target this limited fishery, and that this number was far greater than the total allowable catch could withstand. The projection was for a fishing pressure of about 40 vessels, targeting a 4,000 tonne TAC. There would have been three results: first, a rapid exhaustion of the allowable catch; secondly, an uneconomic take for the majority, if not all, of the vessels involved; and, thirdly, there would have been the inevitable risk of large-scale illegal fishing as vessels attempted to ensure viable, economic returns on their fishing efforts.
The South Georgia licensing regime does not preclude vessels from fishing unhindered outside of South Georgia waters. But with due regard to the TAC, and other conservation measures, the commissioner for South Georgia limited the number of licences available to 10, although there was far greater demand. Licences were required by Chilean, Korean, Russian and US vessels. In addition, one Argentine vessel voluntarily applied for, and was granted, a licence. The vessel operator subsequently arranged to transfer the licence
to another non-Argentine vessel as part of a commercial arrangement. The allegation that we put pressure on the vessel to apply for a licence was wholly unfounded.
The South Georgia fisheries regime is legal in terms of our international obligations under the convention on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources. Moreover it is wholly consistent with the convention in terms of its conservation measures.
In summary, the United Kingdom remains committed to Antarctica. We shall continue to demonstrate that commitment through a programme of first-class science there. We shall also continue to maintain a high political profile within the Antarctic treaty system.
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