§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to support the French proposal to declare the entire southern ocean south of 40 deg S as a sanctuary for whales.
§ Mr. CurryAs I made clear to the hon. Member in my statement on 2 April 1993,Official Report, column 811, we 197W are keenly interested in the proposal for an Antarctic whale sanctuary south of 40 deg S. This is due for detailed consideration by the International Whaling Commission when it meets in Japan next month. We have put forward a strong case for twinning this proposal with the as yet unquantified but very important issue of environmental changes, such as global warming, ozone depletion and pollution, and how these may impact on whale stocks. We intend playing a full part in the Commission's further deliberations on this basis.