Japanese delegate Joji Morishita speaks to the press at the third day of International Whaling Commission (IWC) 2006 summit in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Enlarge imageWhile the IWC may be a flawed convention, it has brought about enormous benefit for whales - in particular with the 1986 global moratorium on commercial whaling and the establishment of the 1996 Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Countless tens of thousands of whales have benefited from the protection it has offered.
However, on the flipside it is clear that diplomacy has so far been ineffective in stopping Japan's ‘scientific’ whaling sham.
The IWC must therefore be brought back under democratic control by whale-friendly nations. It must be reformed into a whale conservation body, and Japan must be convinced and compelled to end their annual 'scientific' assault on the whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and the North Pacific.
At the 2006 IWC meeting, not a single resolution or motion was tabled by the whale-friendly nations condemning or calling for an end to the Fisheries Agency of Japan’s annual ‘scientific’ kill. No resolution was entered condemning the addition of threatened fin whales and endangered humpback whales to their scientific menu.
It is now up to all of us, environment groups and whale-friendly governments alike, to make sure it is their last.
This should be pursued at the highest political level, as Japan has done, with the full engagement of their Foreign Ministries.
Governments must work on this consistently in the months leading up to the IWC meetings in order to ensure a good result for the whales.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific actively lobbies the governments of Australia, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Palau and Nauru to either take a stronger stand towards preserving the moratorium on commercial whaling or to adopt a pro-conservation stance at the IWC.
However, on the flipside it is clear that diplomacy has so far been ineffective in stopping Japan's ‘scientific’ whaling sham.
The IWC must therefore be brought back under democratic control by whale-friendly nations. It must be reformed into a whale conservation body, and Japan must be convinced and compelled to end their annual 'scientific' assault on the whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and the North Pacific.
At the 2006 IWC meeting, not a single resolution or motion was tabled by the whale-friendly nations condemning or calling for an end to the Fisheries Agency of Japan’s annual ‘scientific’ kill. No resolution was entered condemning the addition of threatened fin whales and endangered humpback whales to their scientific menu.
It is now up to all of us, environment groups and whale-friendly governments alike, to make sure it is their last.
What whale-friendly countries can do
Whale-friendly countries can start by encouraging other countries to join the IWC, and to convince Japan’s ‘bought’ countries to re-engage their consciences and oppose Japans' pro-whaling corruption of the IWC.This should be pursued at the highest political level, as Japan has done, with the full engagement of their Foreign Ministries.
Governments must work on this consistently in the months leading up to the IWC meetings in order to ensure a good result for the whales.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific actively lobbies the governments of Australia, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Palau and Nauru to either take a stronger stand towards preserving the moratorium on commercial whaling or to adopt a pro-conservation stance at the IWC.
