§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he plans to take to protect(a) the North sea and (b) all United Kingdom waters, out to the 200-mile limit of territorial waters. [28116]
§ Mr. AtkinsUnder international law, territorial waters, and their accompanying jurisdiction, only extend to a maximum of 12 nautical miles from the baseline—that is, the coast or in certain circumstances a line drawn between two headlands. More limited jurisdictions can be claimed in a region up to 200 nautical miles from those baselines. With the other North sea states, the Government set out their intention in the 1992 Paris declaration of extending jurisdiction in this way in respect of shipping. The Government therefore will make regulations under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Act 1994 to extend our coastal state jurisdiction over pollution from shipping. In exercising these jurisdictions, the Government comply with the United Kingdom's obligations under the comprehensive system for the protection of the marine environment of the north-east Atlantic contained in the Oslo, Paris and OSPAR conventions and applies the policies agreed in the North sea conferences, both to the North sea and other UK waters.