§ Lord MELCHETTasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is true that three Puerto Rican tuna fishing boats, the "Kali", "Eliza M" and the "Don Juan", have recently changed from American to British registration in order to avoid the USA's legislation designed to prevent the incidental killing of dolphins by the tuna fishing industry and, if so, what steps they intend to take to prevent British registration being used as a flag of convenience to allow these boats to continue to slaughter dolphins while fishing for tuna by methods that would be illegal under American law.
§ Lord TREFGARNEFrom the information that is immediately available to me, I can confirm that a fishing boat previously named the "Don Juan" and previously registered at Puerto Rico has been registered at Georgetown, a British port of registry in the Cayman Islands, under the name "Don Juan Zee".
I am making further inquiries into the matters raised by the noble Lord, and will write to him as soon as possible.