Cette démarche condamne officiellement la décision de l'Islande
de reprendre la chasse commerciale à la baleine, ainsi que le
processus de décision unilatéral adopté par l'Islande pour prendre
cette décision:
"De la même manière, l'Islande a défini des quotas en utilisant
des critères qui n'ont été ni présentés, ni révisés et approuvés
par le Comité Scientifique de la Commission Baleinière
Internationale (CBI).
Nous sommes profondément concernés par le fait que l'Islande
s'auto alloue un quota qui n'a pas été approuvé selon les
dispositions internationales applicables, avant que les effets
possibles sur les populations de baleines aient été évalués
correctement et révisés de concert par les entités reconnues comme
compétentes dans la gestion des ressources baleinières."
La condamnation met également en exergue le fait que le rorqual
commun est sur la liste des espèces menacées d'extinction de
l'Union mondiale pour la nature (World Conservation Union, IUCN),
et que le commerce de rorquals communs est interdit par la
Convention sur le commerce international des espèces menacées
d'extinction (Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species, CITES).
L'Islande a commencé une "révision" des listes de la CITES, mais
le gouvernement ne souhaite apparemment même pas attendre les
conclusions de ses propres scientifiques avant d'empiler les
cadavres de rorquals communs.
Engagez-vous:
dites au gouvernement islandais que vous êtes prêt à visiter
l'Islande s'il met un terme à la chasse à la baleine!
Voici le texte officiel de la condamnation (en anglais), dans
son intégralité:
JOINT DEMARCHE BY ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM,
BRAZIL, CHILE, THE CZECH REPUBLIC, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, IRELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, LUXEMBOURG,
MEXICO, MONACO, THE NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, PERU, PORTUGAL, THE
SLOVAK REPUBLIC, SPAIN, SWEDEN, THE UNITED KINGDOM, and THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
We, the Governments of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Brazil, Chile, The Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, The Slovak Republic,
Spain, Sweden, The United Kingdom and The United States of America,
together with The European Commission are extremely disappointed
that the Icelandic Government has decided to resume commercial
whaling in Icelandic waters, in spite of the internationally agreed
moratorium.
Furthermore, we are very concerned that Iceland is considering
the taking of nine fin whales, which have been classified as
'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and are
listed under CITES Appendix I, together with thirty common minke
whales. We do not agree with this proposed action, adding as it
does to the current catches of common minke whales under the
research plan, which Iceland has been implementing since 2003.
At the 22nd Animals Committee meeting of CITES - the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora - which took place in Peru, only last July, Iceland's
proposed inclusion of the central stock of North Atlantic fin
whales in the periodic review was agreed. Nevertheless, the
Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries has now set its own catch limits,
without awaiting the outcome of this review.
Similarly, Iceland has set its quota using criteria that have
not been presented to or reviewed and approved by the International
Whaling Commission's (IWC) Scientific Committee. It deeply concerns
us that the Icelandic Government awards itself a quota that has not
been approved according to the applicable international provisions,
before any possible effects on whale populations have been properly
assessed and peer reviewed by those bodies recognised as competent
to manage whale resources.
We would wish to point to the significant economic and social
benefits which accrue to Iceland arising from its growing
whale-watching industry and express the view that the decision to
commence commercial whaling could seriously undermine those
benefits. We are of the opinion that the decision to commence
commercial whaling sends a wrong signal with regard to Iceland's
growing whale watching industry.
We call upon Iceland to respect the moratorium and halt its
commercial whaling operations. We believe that commercial whaling
quotas determined and prosecuted in the absence of any agreed
management system undermines the proper functioning of the IWC.
We repeat our countries' opposition to this operation and urge
the Government of Iceland to reconsider its position and reverse
this unnecessary decision, and to abandon its current operations.
We remind Iceland that 19 countries registered a formal objection
with the United States Government (as the depository country for
the instrument of adherence to the International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling) to Iceland's Reservation on commercial
whaling when they rejoined the IWC in 2002.
Engagez-vous à visiter l'Islande s'il met un terme à la chasse baleinière!
Engagez-vous: dites au gouvernement islandais que vous êtes prêt à visiter l'Islande s'il met un terme à la chasse à la baleine!