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Latest update: 23/04/2010
- Iceland - Japan - Norway - whaling
IWC unveils compromise proposal on commercial whaling, angering environmentalists
The International Whaling Commission on Thursday unveiled a compromise proposal under which Japan, Iceland and Norway, who are currently violating a whaling moratorium, could resume commercial whaling under drastically reduced quotas.
By News Wires (text)
REUTERS - Japan, Norway and Iceland could continue commercial whaling for another decade, despite a global ban, under a proposal released on Thursday by the International Whaling Commission.
Between 4,000 and 18,000 whales could be saved over the next 10 years under the compromise proposal, which sets lower catch limits for all three whaling nations than the self-imposed quotas they have now.
"For the first time since the adoption of the commercial whaling moratorium, we will have strict, enforceable limits on all whaling operations," Cristian Maquieira, the Chilean chairman of the commission, said in a statement.
There would be rigorous monitoring of whaling, and no other countries in the 88-nation commission would be allowed to start whaling operations during the 10-year plan.
The environmentally delicate Southern Ocean would be designated as a sanctuary, but whalers from Japan would still be allowed to take a number of the marine mammals from the seas around Antarctica.
The United States said it would consider the plan but said it would oppose any proposal that lifted the international commercial whaling ban, which has been routinely evaded by Japan, Norway and Iceland.
"Loopholes" blamed
"When the moratorium on commercial whaling began in 1986, it had an immediate beneficial impact," Monica Medina, a Commerce Department official who represents Washington at the whaling commission, said in a statement.
Medina said that, over time, "loopholes in the rules" allowed more whaling, with 35,000 whales hunted and killed since the ban started.
The proposal is a compromise crafted by Maquieira and the commission's vice chairman, Anthony Liverpool, after two years of acrimony and meetings in Washington last week that ended with no agreement. The 88 member-countries will have 60 days to consider it before discussing it at the commission's annual meeting in Morocco in June.
Environmental groups and many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, favor a total ban on commercial whaling.
"It's quite disappointing," said Susan Lieberman of the Pew Environment Group. "The key issue is, it allows for continued commercial whaling. It allows Japan to whale off the coast of Antarctica, and that's not acceptable."
The impact of climate change is more severe at the poles, and the waters around Antarctica are already under pressure, Lieberman said. She questioned the proposed idea of setting up a sanctuary for whales there, and then letting whaling continue in the area.
Lieberman praised the proposal's provisions for detailed monitoring and DNA tracking of whales.
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Comments (3)
Badly researched article
"...who are currently violating a whaling moratorium..."
Sorry, but none of the 3 countries mentioned are violating the moratorium. They are all whaling legally under the current IWC regulations
RARC, you do realize that The Cove is about dolphins and the IWC doesn't regulate dolphin hunting? So if as you contend, The Cove is make slow but steady progress (which I fail to see your basis for this statement) how id that related to whaling?
This is no compromise
The Japanese have no reason to accept this weak offer because they aren't breaking any laws now, neither is Iceland or Norway. The IWC is very clear that the right to issue scientific permit is "enshrined" in article 8 of the whaling convention "loopholes" are rarely enshrined.
The IWC and Scientific Permits
GENERAL
"A major area of discussion in recent years has been the issuing of permits by member states for the killing of whales for scientific purposes. The use of such permits is not new. The right to issue them is enshrined in Article VIII of the 1946 Convention. Whilst member nations must submit proposals for review, in accordance with the Convention, it is the member nation that ultimately decides whether or not to issue a permit, and this right overrides any other Commission regulations including the moratorium and sanctuaries. Article VIII also requires that the animals be utilised once the scientific data have been collected.
Prior to 1982, when it was agreed that a moratorium would come into effect in 1986, over 100 permits were issued by a number of governments including Canada, USA, USSR, South Africa and Japan".
http://iwcoffice.org/conservation/permits.htm
The IWC is a WHALING commission not a conservation society:
"HISTORY AND PURPOSE
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling which was signed in Washington DC on 2nd December 1946 The purpose of the Convention is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and THUS MAKE POSSIBLE THE ORDERLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE WHALING INDUSTRY"
http://iwcoffice.org/commission/iwcmain.htm
Lead, Follow, Or Get Out Of The Way
The proposed agreement has merit: Brave but divisive acts on the high seas by Sea Shepherd, or bombast and bluster on the safe side of the shore have failed to stop whaling. In fact, the number of whales taken each year has increased. Collectively, these acts and words are seen as part of an imperialistic assault on the Japanese culture, and ironically, they have only served to further entrench the Japanese government’s support for whaling. The only way to get Japan, Iceland and Norway, to stop this brutal practice is to reach out to the ordinary citizens of these countries and get them to work against whaling from within. Louis Psihoyos’ Academy Award-winning film, The Cove, is making slow but steady progress toward that goal. However, changing a culture takes a long time and the proposed agreement the IWC will consider in June at least puts stricter controls on whaling while setting an end point to the slaughter. Unless someone has a better way to put an end to whaling, this agreement should be seriously considered. As Thomas Paine once said, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” Please visit my blog: http://whaleanddolphintalk.blogspot.com/
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