Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on marine conservation in the Antarctic.

Ocean protection issues have been a key point of discussion among Ministers at recent G7 and G20 meetings, as the UK continues to be a global leader in marine conservation. Within the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the UK is working proactively to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas around Antarctica. At its next meeting in October, CCAMLR will consider the UK co-sponsored proposals for establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the East Antarctic and Weddell Sea. International consultations on these proposals are underway at official and technical levels.