§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to support proposals prepared by the French Government for discussion at the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission in relation to the creation of a whale sanctuary in the seas around Antarctica.
§ Mr. CurryI have been asked to reply.
The French proposal for a whale sanctuary in the Antarctic, put to the International Whaling Commission 595W —ICW—at its 44th meeting in Glasgow last June, is due for further consideration when the Commission meets in Kyoto in May of this year. The United Kingdom was one of the countries which encouraged the IWC to undertake further work on this and related issues. We shall play a full part in its further consideration, liaising with other IWC contracting parties and with the environmental organisations with whom we work closely.