§ Mr AingerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) when he expects guidelines on acoustic disturbance of cetaceans during seismic exploration activity to come into force;
(2) when he will publish draft guidelines on acoustic disturbance of cetaceans during seismic exploration activity;
(3) which non-governmental organisations he intends to consult on draft guidelines on acoustic disturbance of cetaceans during seismic exploration activity; and when he intends to consult them.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 26 May 1994]: I have been asked to reply.
The non-governmental groups to be consulted on draft guidelines include Wildlife and Countryside Link—cetacean group—which represents 10 voluntary groups; the Wildlife and Countryside Link groups for Scotland and Wales; the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society; Greenpeace; World Wide Fund for Nature and the Friends of Cardigan Bay. I hope to issue a draft shortly and will then need to take account of any comments before publishing the guidelines in final form. They will become fully operational at that point.