HC Deb 18 October 1990 vol 177 cc913-4W
50. Mr. Anthony Coombs

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken to safeguard dolphins.

Mr. Curry

Dolphins are already strictly protected under United Kingdom law including against deliberate capture. We are playing a leading role in work with countries bordering the North Sea and the Baltic for arrangements to further conserve small cetaceans, including dolphins. We also continue to press for wider international protection where this is needed and have supported the United Nations resolution to curtail large scale oceanic drift netting which has presented a threat to dolphins and other marine life particularly in the South Pacific.