Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many kilometres of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands marine protected area are legally designated as fully no-take areas.

The South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA, established to deliver defined conservation outcomes, covers 1.074 million km^2. No commercial fishing licences are granted across the remaining 166,207 km² of the maritime zone.

There are a number of legal provisions in place for the effective management and conservation of the South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA. There are approximately 20,500 km² of full no-take zones; 18,000 km² of additional pelagic no-take zones; prohibitions of long-line fishing across 989,000 km²; and a complete ban on commercial bottom trawling.