Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 14 • 23rd July 2004
PRO- AND ANTI-WHALING CAMPS CLASH AT IWC MEET
PRO- AND ANTI-WHALING CAMPS CLASH AT IWC MEET
The 56th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Sorrento, Italy, from 19-22 July, again witnessed heated exchanges between supporters and opponents of commercial whale hunting. In a move hailed by conservationists, IWC member states, in the closing hours of the meeting, decided against setting a 2005 deadline for agreeing on a new management scheme, which anti-whaling lobbyists had feared could pave the way for ending the existing ban on whale hunting. The IWC also adopted a resolution calling for more humane hunting methods. The Commission, however, rejected proposals for setting up two new whale sanctuaries as well as a Japanese request for new catch quotas.
Last-minute rejection of deadline for management plan
Divisions at the IWC meeting where particularly deep with regard to a proposal by IWC Chair Henrik Fischer for the adoption of a Revised Management Scheme at the next annual meeting in 2005. Some nations had expressed concern that the draft plan, which would include a quota calculation model and procedures for inspection and observation, would effectively spell the end to the 18-year old moratorium on whaling. Anti-whaling nations, such as Australia, the UK and New Zealand, also felt that the draft was too weak and would not protect whales. In the end, the language on the timeline in the resolution was toned down, calling for work towards drafting of text and technical details of the RMS "with the aim of having the results ready for consideration and possibly adoption at" the 2005 IWC meeting.
Environmental groups welcomed this decision. "We have derailed a runaway train toward the resumption of commercial whaling," said Sue Liebermann of WWF. "It does bring commercial whaling closer, but it is a small step, and not the big step that Japan wanted," she added. Japan, one of the most vocal defenders of whaling, expressed "dissatisfaction" with the decision. The result has "heightened our concern about the future relevance of the IWC for Japan," Tokyo’s IWC Commissioner Minoru Morimoto noted.
IWC responds to animal welfare concerns
In a move hailed by conservation groups as a "real victory for whale welfare", the Commission adopted a non-binding resolution advocating less cruel hunting methods. "Current whaling methods do not guarantee death without pain, stress or distress," the resolution noted. Pro-whaling nations Japan, Norway and Iceland voted against the motion, arguing that whale hunting was not excessively cruel and that the IWC should focus its efforts on conservation rather than animal welfare. The pro-whaling lobby group High North Alliance described the resolution as a "posturing exercise" which in practice would "not have any effect at all". The alleged cruelty of modern whaling activities recently aroused public concern with the release of a report in March this year pointing to inadequate and out-dated killing methods (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 19 March 2004).
No support for sanctuaries or new quotas
Fruitless debates on new sanctuaries and quotas also continued at this year’s IWC meeting (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 30 June 2003). The Commission again rejected proposals by Australia / New Zealand and Argentina / Brazil to set up whale sanctuaries in the Pacific and South Atlantic respectively. The pro-sustainable use conservation group IWMC - World Conservation Trust welcomed this decision, arguing that "the protection of whales depends on the establishment of an overall management system, not political grandstanding". In contrast, WWF expressed their deep disappointment. "The wishes of the region have been ignored," said Chris Howe of WWF-New Zeeland. "This sanctuary would have provided enormous benefits to both whales and people in the Pacific but once again it was blocked by countries taking orders from Tokyo."
The Commission also rejected a request by Japan for quotas in the Antarctic and the North Pacific, adding further to Japan’s frustration with the IWC meeting. IWMC deplored the decision as "double standards," pointing to the fact that the IWC had allowed indigenous peoples in the US to catch endangered bowhead whales off Alaska.
The 2005 IWC meeting will be held in Uslan, Korea while the 2006 annual meeting will be hosted by St Kitts and Nevis.
"Anti-whalers claim victory in annual joust with pro camp," AFP, 22 July 2004; "IWC talkshop finishes," HNA, 22 July 2004; "Whaling body retreats from rush to lift hunt ban," REUTERS, 23 July 2004; "Whaling body calls for more humane deaths," REUTERS, 22 July 20004; "IWMC condemns whale body’s dereliction of duty," IWMC, 21 July 2004; "Rejection of sanctuaries will aid whale conservation," IWMC, 21 July 2004.