§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to implement resolution 929 (1989) of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in respect of the powers of the International Whaling Commission to be extended to dolphin and porpoise species of cetaceans.
§ Mr. CurryWe have for a long time insisted that the convention of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as drafted already covers small cetaceans. A significant number of members of the IWC however take the opposite view and do not acknowledge that it has the legal competence to regulate catches of small cetaceans. Nevertheless we will continue our efforts alongside other like-minded countries within the IWC. In addition we work through other international fora for the protection of small cetaceans, most recently in relation to the indiscriminate use of large-scale drift nets.
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§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if Her Majesty's Government will support an extension of the international whaling convention moratorium on all quotas in commercial whaling; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryThe United Kingdom played a leading role in the International Whaling Commission in securing the current moratorium on commercial whaling. We shall continue our policy that the moratorium should be maintained until the scientific committee of the IWC can clearly advise that the state of stocks is satisfactory and that a management procedure which safeguarded the stocks has been devised.