§ Mr. John Huntasked the Lord Privy Seal whether the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources recently concluded in Canberra involves an extension of the Antarctic Treaty to the Falkland Islands and their dependencies; whether the convention has any effect on British sovereignty over these territories; and whether the convention has any effect on British rights to control fishing around these territories.
§ Mr. RidleyThe convention does not extend the Antarctic Treaty. The Falkland Islands and their waters lie entirely outside the scope of the convention. It does apply to the waters around the Dependencies (South Georgia and South Sandwich) but it has no effect on British territorial sovereignty there.
The convention establishes conservation principles and does not affect our right to control fishing within existing or future national fishery limits. The convention specifically provides that nothing in it and no acts taking place while it is in force shall be interpreted as a renunciation or 867W diminution by any contracting party of its right to exercise coastal State jurisdiction under international law.