§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific steps his Department has taken, or intends to take, to conserve and manage the habitat of small cetaceans, in line with the United Kingdom's commitments under the annex to the 1992 agreement on the conservation of small cetaceans of the Baltic and North seas; and what steps he is taking to prevent acoustic disturbance.
§ Mr. Yeo[holding answer 7 June 1993]: The Government strongly support the agreement. The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to sign it last year and although the agreement is not yet in force, we have already agreed to apply its principles in all British waters.
Cetaceans already receive considerable protection in British waters under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. A number of other initiatives are also under way which contribute to the conservation of small cetaceans. These include controls of discharges into the sea; restrictions on exploration activity at sea; research into ways of enhancing the acoustic detectability of fishing nets to reduce by-catches, and research funded by my Department for recording cetaceans stranded on the British coast and investigating causes of death.
The new agreement contains provisions to encourage joint research. In considering whether further conservation measures are necessary it is essential that we learn more about the abundance and distribution of the various species of small cetaceans present in European waters. For that reason, the Government announced last year that we would provide £110,000 towards a major survey of small cetaceans in the North sea, including the channel. The project is led by the sea mammal research unit—SMRU—based in Cambridge. The EC and several other range states are also providing resources and the survey is due to be conducted next year.
The SMRU is also to chair a working group on acoustic disturbance to small cetaceans. This has been established by my Department under the arrangements for the implementation of the new agreement.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the United Kingdom Government expect to ratify the agreement on the small cetaceans of the Baltic and North seas signed in New York on 17 March 1992.
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§ Mr. Yeo[holding answer 11 June 1993]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently preparing an instrument of ratification for the agreement and will be depositing it with the United Nations shortly.