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At an historic three day meeting that began in London yesterday, representatives from 75 countries met to discuss the future of the IWC prior to the annual meeting in June. Their vote could either save whales or support commercial whaling.
We know the Japanese government is up to its old vote-buying tricks because earlier this week they hosted a 'seminar' for nations they are recruiting to join the IWC to boost the pro-whaling votes.
Eight of the countries Japan invited to their ‘seminar’ are not yet members of the IWC (Africa: Angola, Eritrea, Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania. Pacific: Micronesia, Vanuatu) and four have recently joined the IWC (Cambodia, Laos, Palau, Guinea).
Many of these developing counties do not traditionally have a direct interest in whaling. However, Japan gives fisheries aid to developing countries in return for their vote at the IWC. In doing this, Japan is taking advantage of its legitimate food security issues by claiming whales are responsible for the loss of fish stocks in African and Pacific waters.
This is scientific nonsense as the whales being hunted in the Southern Ocean are all baleen whales that live off tiny krill. It is overfishing by nations such as Japan that is causing the decline in global fish stocks.
The Australian government will play a leading role in the pro-conservation side at the IWC meeting with a new proposal that would close the scientific whaling loophole Japan currently exploits. But for this agenda to succeed there must be diplomatic efforts to communicate with all the countries Japan is trying to recruit to its side.
The Australian government’s proposal also asks the IWC to put in place conservation plans that protect whales from the full range of modern day threats - not only whaling, but also climate change, fisheries activities, marine pollution, habitat disturbance, and collisions with ships.
The whaling industry in the 20th century devastated whale populations. In the Antarctic whale numbers were reduced to 5% to 10% of previous levels. The IWC failed to prevent this and even oversaw some of the worst excesses of the whaling era.
Greenpeace proposes that the IWC agree to halt all further lethal study and exploitation of whales. Instead it should devote all its efforts to the non-lethal study of whale populations, and to devising and implementing strategies for the recovery of all whale populations to pre-exploitation levels.
To end whaling for good we must keep up pressure on the Japanese government and mobilise people in Japan to show their government that they are opposed to whaling.
Japan attempts to undermine the meeting
We know the Japanese government is up to its old vote-buying tricks because earlier this week they hosted a 'seminar' for nations they are recruiting to join the IWC to boost the pro-whaling votes.
Eight of the countries Japan invited to their ‘seminar’ are not yet members of the IWC (Africa: Angola, Eritrea, Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania. Pacific: Micronesia, Vanuatu) and four have recently joined the IWC (Cambodia, Laos, Palau, Guinea).
Many of these developing counties do not traditionally have a direct interest in whaling. However, Japan gives fisheries aid to developing countries in return for their vote at the IWC. In doing this, Japan is taking advantage of its legitimate food security issues by claiming whales are responsible for the loss of fish stocks in African and Pacific waters.
This is scientific nonsense as the whales being hunted in the Southern Ocean are all baleen whales that live off tiny krill. It is overfishing by nations such as Japan that is causing the decline in global fish stocks.
Australian government’s anti-whaling proposal
The Australian government will play a leading role in the pro-conservation side at the IWC meeting with a new proposal that would close the scientific whaling loophole Japan currently exploits. But for this agenda to succeed there must be diplomatic efforts to communicate with all the countries Japan is trying to recruit to its side.
The Australian government’s proposal also asks the IWC to put in place conservation plans that protect whales from the full range of modern day threats - not only whaling, but also climate change, fisheries activities, marine pollution, habitat disturbance, and collisions with ships.
Greenpeace recommendations
The whaling industry in the 20th century devastated whale populations. In the Antarctic whale numbers were reduced to 5% to 10% of previous levels. The IWC failed to prevent this and even oversaw some of the worst excesses of the whaling era.
This century needs to be a century of recovery
Greenpeace proposes that the IWC agree to halt all further lethal study and exploitation of whales. Instead it should devote all its efforts to the non-lethal study of whale populations, and to devising and implementing strategies for the recovery of all whale populations to pre-exploitation levels.
The way forward
To end whaling for good we must keep up pressure on the Japanese government and mobilise people in Japan to show their government that they are opposed to whaling.
