THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Status: British Overseas Territory
Area: Some 170km long, varying in
width from 2 to 40 km
Population: No indigenous population
Capital City: King Edward Point
(Administrative Centre)
People: Not applicable (N/A)
Languages: English
Religion(s): N/A
Currency: Pound Sterling
Major political parties: None
GEOGRAPHY
South Georgia is an isolated,
mountainous sub-Antarctic island about
1390km south east of the Falkland
Islands and about 2,150km east of
Tierra del Fuego. Surrounded by cold
waters originating from the Antarctic,
South Georgia has a harsher climate
than expected from its latitude. More
than 50% of the island is covered by
permanent ice with many large glaciers
reaching the sea at the head of fjords.
The main mountain range, the Allardyce
Range, has its highest point at Mount
Paget (2960m). The South Sandwich
Islands consist of a chain of active
volcanic islands some 240km long. The
climate is wholly Antarctic. In the late
winter the Islands may be surrounded
by pack ice.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
The first landing on South Georgia was
that of Captain James Cook in 1775.
Thereafter, South Georgia was much
visited by sealers of many nationalities
who reaped a rich harvest from the
immense number of fur seals and
elephant seals that frequented the
shores. Britain annexed South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands
(SGSSI) by Letters Patent in 1908.
Since then, the Islands have been under
continuous British occupation, apart
from a short period of illegal Argentine
occupation in 1982. Throughout much
of the last century South Georgia was
the centre of land-based whaling in the
Southern Hemisphere and whaling
stations operated under a licence from
the British administration.
CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS
The Commissioner for South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands is at
the same time Governor of the
Falkland Islands. Under the SGSSI
Constitution, he consults the Falkland
Islands Executive Council on matters
which he considers might affect the
Falkland Islands. The Commissioner is
assisted by the First Secretary at
Government House in Stanley who is
concurrently Assistant Commissioner
and Director of Fisheries, and by an
Operations Manager. The Attorney
General and Financial Secretary from
the Falkland Islands fulfil parallel roles
in SGSSI. The Commissioner depends
on the advice of the Commander,
British Forces (Falkland Islands) on
matters concerning defence or internal
security of the Islands. Following the
end of the Argentine occupation of
1982, a small garrison was maintained
at King Edward Point on South Georgia
but this was withdrawn in March 2001.
At the same time, a new scientific
research facility was opened. The
British Antarctic Survey's (BAS)
scientific and support team who
occupy and run it augment the existing
civilian presence on the Island. The BAS
are undertaking a programme of
scientific research under contract to
the Government of South Georgia and
the South Sandwich Islands, with the
aim of supporting the Government in
its environmental management and
sustainable development of the
Territory. Argentina asserts a claim to
sovereignty over SGSSI. But Britain
has no doubt about its sovereignty and
does not regard it as negotiable.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Government Revenue: £3.923 million
(estimate, FY2002)
Government Expenditure: £3.116million
(estimate, FY 2002) The main sources
of revenue are from the sale of fishing
licences, sale of stamps and
commemorative coins, customs and
harbour dues, and landing and
trans-shipment fees. Main items of
expenditure are fisheries
administration costs and research,
fisheries protection, conservation
projects, production stamps and
support for the South Georgia
Museum.
NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
South Georgia also has a rich heritage
stemming from its past prominence as
a staging post for Antarctic discovery
and the sealing and whaling industries it
supported. As a result, South Georgia
is increasingly becoming a popular
tourist destination and important for
scientific research. The Territory is of
great importance for sub-Antarctic
flora and fauna. South Georgia is the
breeding ground for some 85% of the
world's Southern Fur Seal population
as well as globally significant
populations of elephant seals,
albatrosses, petrels and penguins.
Reindeer were introduced in about 1910
by Norwegian whaling companies. Only
the coastal fringes of South Georgia
support vegetation, mainly in the form
of tussock grass. The Government of
South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands (GSGSSI) recognises the
Islands' significance for global
conservation and is committed to
providing a sustainable policy
framework which conserves, manages
and protects the Islands' rich natural
environment, whilst at the same time
allowing for human activities and for
the generation of revenue which allows
this to be achieved. This framework
was set out in the 2000 South Georgia
Environmental Management Plan. The
South Sandwich Islands represent a
maritime ecosystem scarcely modified
by human activities.
FISHERIES
In 1993, concerns about illegal,
unregulated and unreported fishing led
the Government/ SGSSI to extend its
maritime jurisdiction to 200 nautical
miles around the Territory and to
implement a fisheries conservation and
management regime to control access
to the fishery. Management of the
fishery is conducted under SGSSI law
and follows procedures and regulations
laid down by the Commission for the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (CCAMLR). All
vessels wishing to fish within the
Territory's Maritime Zone must be
licensed by the Director of Fisheries.
The number of licences and amount of
quota available each year is based on
the Total Allowable Catch set by the
CCAMLR Commission. A range of
vessels of various flags are licensed
annually, including a number from the
UK's Overseas Territories of the
Falkland Islands and St Helena. Main
target species include Patagonian
Toothfish, Icefish, Krill and Crab.
Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported
fishing in SGSSI waters, as elsewhere,
has posed a serious threat to the
conservation of fish stocks, and to
populations of sea birds which may be
caught inadvertently in such operations.
The Government of SGSSI takes this
threat seriously and devotes a
significant proportion of annual
revenue towards scientific research
and fisheries surveillance. This helps to
ensure that the Director of Fisheries
has the best advice on which to base
his management decisions, that only
licensed vessels operate in the fishery
and that they comply fully with their
licence conditions and applicable
CCAMLR Conservation Measures.This
commitment to the sustainable
management of the fishery was a key
factor in the GSGSSI's 2001
application for certification of the
Patagonian Toothfish fishery under the
Marine Stewardship Council's
standard. A report by the
MSC-approved certifier, Moody
Marine Limited, recommending
certification, has been published on the
MSC website (www.msc.org). The
FCO warmly welcomed this develo
pment and is cautiously optimistic that
certification will be confirmed
following the MSC's currently ongoing
objections procedure process. If
successful, the South Georgia fishery
will be the first commercial fishery in
the Southern Ocean to be
MSC-certified and will we hope
encourage other administrations in the
region to adopt similar management
policies and practices for the
conservation of fish stocks and other
wildlife.
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