§ Tony BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what specific criteria her Department proposes for the where possible clause to become applicable within the pledge to replenish fish stocks agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. [74615]
§ Mr. MorleyThe United Kingdom attaches high importance to the commitment to restore fish stocks and will be seeking to secure this by 2015 under the Common Fisheries Policy. The wording "where possible" was inserted to meet the concerns of some parties that the objective might in some cases in other parts of the world be biologically impossible.
§ Tony BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the Government plans to develop the partnership agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to increase the capacity of coastal developing countries to tackle and manage their fish resources; and by which year these partnerships will need to be fully operational to help achieve the 2015 millennium development goals. [74617]
§ Mr. MorleyA number of local, regional or thematic partnerships were announced at WSSD which are potentially relevant to helping coastal developing countries manage their fish resources. The United Kingdom will join these partnerships where we are invited to do so and it is clear that we have a contribution to make.
The UK has been invited to join the core planning group for the "White Water to Blue water" initiative, promoted by the United States and intended to promote 567W a cross-cutting approach to regional oceans and coastal ecosystem management in the Wider Caribbean region. Fisheries are within the scope of this work.
The UK is currently exploring how it might assist global work to protect coral reefs through the International Coral Reefs Initiative, and is supporting OSPAR (the convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North East Atlantic) in developing a partnership with the equivalent convention for West Africa. Both should contribute to helping developing countries manage fish stocks more effectively.
The Plan of Action agreed at WSSD called for action to strengthen donor coordination and partnerships to enable developing countries to develop their capacity for infrastructure and integrated management, and the sustainable use of fisheries. The UK will continue to work for this through its bilateral aid programme, through its membership of a number of regional fisheries organisations, and through partnerships with a number of UN agencies, in particular with the FAO.
While these partnerships will contribute to the elimination of poverty, they are not explicitly timed to coincide with the Millennium Development Goals.