Present Situation
Currently nine BAS personnel overwinter at the station, rising to around 18 in summer. Two Government Officers plus partners are stationed on KEP, overlapping by about three months during the busy winter fishing season. Summer staff from the Museum at Grytviken are also accommodated at KEP.
The continued occupation of the station serves a political purpose as well, in that it helps to maintain British sovereignty against Argentina's claim for ownership of the territory.
The chief activities of the station are applied fisheries research on behalf of the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, to assist its policies for sustainable management of the commercial fishery, and to provide logistic support for the Government Officer(s).
Read more about this topic: King Edward Point
Famous quotes containing the words present and/or situation:
“Jesus wept; Voltaire smiled. From that divine tear and from that human smile is derived the grace of present civilization.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“There had been no thievery or venality. We had all simply wandered into a situation unthinkingly, trying to protect ourselves from what we saw as a political problem. Now, suddenly, it was like a Rorschach ink blot: others, looking at our actions, pointed out a pattern that we ourselves had not seen.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1994)