Press release - May 23, 2002
Greenpeace fights to stop commercial whaling
Today two alternative management plans for whaling were rejected
by the IWC.
Even the Government of Japan´s vote buying was not enough to
push through Japan´s version of the Revised Management Scheme (RMS)
that included abolition of the moratorium on commercial whaling and
abolition of the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean Whale
Sanctuaries.
"This outrageous proposal would at a stroke have abolished all
those hard won victories by conservation minded countries and
environmental groups at the IWC. These victories were fought for on
behalf of the world´s remaining whales," says Greenpeace Oceans
Campaigner Richard Page.
The alternative proposal sponsored by Sweden, the Netherlands,
Ireland, Oman, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Finland also
failed to gain the three quarters majority required under IWC rules
to pass.
"Management plans have never worked in the past and we´ve got no
reason to believe they would work now," says Page.
"Given the uncertainty surrounding the whale populations and the
myriad environmental hazards they face, like toxic pollution and
climate change, Greenpeace believes only an outright ban on
commercial whaling can give whales a chance to recover," Page
says.