Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he will take to advance proposals to create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary in the Weddell Sea, following the failure to reach an agreement on such proposals at the meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in autumn 2018.

The UK remains engaged with a range of developments to help secure early adoption of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Weddell Sea. British scientists are participating in scientific expeditions to the Weddell Sea during this Antarctic season, and in a series of international scientific workshops and meetings, to further develop the scientific case for the MPA proposal. The UK is also continuing to engage with counterparts from other Member States in the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to find a way to move forward on this, and other outstanding, MPA proposals.