Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Mauritius has notified her of (a) plans for a future Marine Protected Area for the Chagos Archipelago and (b) measures to permit fishing.

We welcome the 3 November announcement by the Mauritian Government confirming plans for the establishment of a Marine Protected Area after entry into force of the Treaty. The proposed zones of the future protected area will utilise the internationally recognised categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There will be no commercial fishing across the entire 640,000 square kilometre area. The Great Chagos Bank will be given one of the highest levels of protection, with the rest of the MPA categorised as a highly protected conservation zone. There will be limited provision for controlled levels of artisanal fishing in confined zoned areas intended for resettlement, to allow for subsistence fishing by any Chagossian communities that resettle, while maintaining the commitment to nature conservation.