Conservationists condemn 'peace plan' allowing for limited whaling

Under IWC proposals countries that hunt whales despite ban would have to agree to catch limits
Emily Beament, guardian.co.uk 23 Apr 10;

An attempt to break the impasse over the global ban on whaling by allowing the first legal commercial hunting of whales in nearly 25 years came under attack from conservationists today.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has proposed a 10-year "peace plan", which it said would maintain the global moratorium on commercial whaling but allow limited catches for those countries that continue to hunt whales despite the ban.

The plan aims to broker a compromise in the dispute between countries such as Britain which are opposed to whaling and those that hunt the mammals.

Currently Iceland and Norway whale commercially, setting their own quotas, while Japan exploits a loophole allowing it to catch whales under an exemption for "scientific" whaling.

Under the proposals set out by the IWC those countries would have to agree to catch limits set by the commission and based on scientific advice.

The IWC said the plan, which will be discussed at the annual meeting of the commission's 88 country members in June, would mean several thousand fewer whales would be caught than if the current situation continued.

Cristian Maquieira, chairman of the IWC, said: "For the first time since the adoption of the commercial whaling moratorium, we will have strict, enforceable limits on all whaling operations. As a result, several thousand less whales will be killed over the period of the agreement. In addition, no other IWC countries will be permitted to start hunting whales during the period."

The IWC urged countries to put their differences aside to focus on ensuring the world had "healthy" whale stocks.

It also said the plan would mean a whale sanctuary was created in the South Atlantic. But the wildlife charity WWF said the plans allowed for the hunting of endangered fin whales and sei whales whose numbers have been severely depleted by commercial whaling.

It would also endorse whaling in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary, which is an important feeding ground for species including blue whales, humpback whales and fin whales, WWF said.

Heather Sohl, species policy officer for WWF-UK, said: "If there is one place on Earth where whales should have full protection, it is the Southern Ocean.

"Some whales feed exclusively in the Southern Ocean – not eating at all during the winter months when they travel up to tropical waters.

"Allowing commercial whaling in an area where whales are so vulnerable goes against all logic."

She added: "Both fin and sei whale species were depleted to severely low levels by previous whaling that spun out of control, and they remain endangered as a result.

"Allowing new commercial whaling on these species when they have yet to recover from previous whaling is management madness."

The Pew Environment Group also criticised "unacceptable provisions" in the plans.

Susan Lieberman, director of international policy for the environmental organisation, said: "The draft compromise would allow whaling by Japan in the waters surrounding Antarctica to continue.

"The safe haven of the IWC-declared Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary – and the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling – should be set in stone, not set aside.

"The proposal would phase down but not eliminate the number of whales killed by the annual expedition of Japan's industrial whaling fleet into the environmentally sensitive Southern Ocean and includes a quota for endangered fin whales, which is objectionable.

"This high seas sanctuary for whales, including endangered fin and humpback whales, must be respected."

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) described the IWC plans as a "whalers' wish list".

Patrick Ramage, Ifaw's whale programme director, said: "It throws a lifeline to a dying industry when endangered whale populations face more threats than ever before.

"This would be a breathtaking reversal of decades of conservation progress at the IWC."

The animal welfare organisation said countries such as Germany and the US were involved in negotiations to draw up the deal.

And Robbie Marsland, UK director of the animal welfare organisation, said: "Whaling is unequivocally banned in EU waters.

"It would be hypocritical in the extreme not to condemn a deal which sanctions whaling elsewhere.

"Instead of twisting arms to get a deal that conserves whaling, the EU should be promoting 21st-century conservation measures and working to end commercial whaling once and for all."

New whaling plan draws fire from all sides
Frank Zeller Yahoo News 23 Apr 10;

TOKYO (AFP) – A "peace plan" by the International Whaling Commission to legitimise but reduce whaling drew fire Friday as Japan demanded higher quotas and environmentalists warned of serious harm to the ocean giants.

The chairman of the 88-nation commission, seeking to end decades of bitter conflict between its pro- and anti-whaling members, unveiled Thursday the compromise proposal to be voted on at a June meeting in Morocco.

Under the draft proposal, Japan, Iceland and Norway would reduce their whale kills over the next decade, subject to tight monitoring, with Japan eventually cutting its Antarctic whale culls by three quarters.

The IWC said in a statement that the "10-year peace plan" would save thousands of whales and present "a great step forward in terms of the conservation of whales and the management of whaling."

But it was roundly criticised by anti-whaling nations and environmental groups, which charged that it would end the moratorium in all but name and risked reviving a dwindling industry in whale meat.

Japan now hunts whales under a loophole to a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling that allows lethal "scientific research" on the sea mammals, while Norway and Iceland defy the moratorium altogether.

"It will be a major achievement if, despite some fundamental differences ... countries can put these differences aside for a period to focus on ensuring the world has healthy whale stocks," IWC chair Cristian Maquieira said.

Japan reacted by saying it would push for higher cull quotas than those outlined in the proposal.

Japan, which now targets more than 900 whales in its annual Antarctic hunts, would have to reduce that number to around 400 whales in the next season and to just over 200 a year from the 2015-16 season onwards.

It would also be allowed to catch 120 whales a year in its coastal waters.

Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu, while welcoming the endorsement of coastal whaling, said: "Regarding the total catch allowed, it is different from Japan's position. We want to continue negotiating with patience."

But environmental groups voiced deep concern.

"This is probably the biggest threat to the ban on commercial whaling that we've faced since it came into force," said Nicolas Entrup of the Munich-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Greenpeace said the proposal would reward whaling nations.

"It's a bit like a bank robber who keeps robbing the bank. You can't actually catch him, so you decide to just give him a big pile of money," said its oceans campaigner Phil Kline.

The World Wide Fund for Nature's species programme manager Wendy Elliott charged that the proposed quotas were "a result of political bargaining which has little if anything to do with the whales themselves."

Australia's Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Canberra could not accept the proposal and stressed that "the government remains resolutely opposed to commercial and so-called 'scientific' whaling."

In Wellington, Foreign Minister Murray McCully called the catch limits unrealistic and said "New Zealanders will not accept this".

"The proposal to include fin whales in the Southern Ocean is inflammatory," he said, pointing at a plan to allow Japan to catch 10 of the animals annually for three years, and five per year after that.

The United States, which has helped spearhead the compromise, withheld a final judgment, anticipating further negotiations.

"The important thing here is that the IWC isn't working right now," said Monica Medina, the US commissioner to the IWC.

"Even with the moratorium in place, the number of whales being killed is increasing and if we can turn that around and decrease the number of whales being killed, that would be a good thing."

The compromise would also allow the killing of 870 minke whales a year in the Atlantic, slightly down from the current total catch quotas by Norway and Iceland, along with Japan's continued hunt in the Pacific Ocean.

Endangered whales could be killed legally
Thousands of whales could be killed legally for the first time in 25 years under new proposals put forward by the International Whaling Commission.
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 24 Apr 10;

The body, set up to protect the species in international waters, banned the commerical hunting of whales outright in 1986.

But whaling nations like Japan, Norway and Iceland continued to hunt the mammals using a series of loopholes, such as whaling for "scientific research".

The IWC, which is due to meet next month to update the law around the protection of whales, has suggested the only way forward is to set up a series of quotas.

It is argued that this will limit the slaughter because the killing of whales is controlled under international law.

However the details of the proposals reveal that the quotas will be in the thousands and include endangered species. Papers issued by the IWC suggest thousands of minke whales could be killed in the Southern Ocean over the next ten years. Even fin whales and sei whales, that are officially in danger of dying out, are included.

Environmentalists were outraged, arguing that the killing of whales should never be sanctioned under international law while the species is still under threat of extinction.

Heather Sohl, species policy officer for WWF-UK, said it was "ridiculous" to allow hunting of whales in the Southern Ocean, which is a critical feeding ground for species including blue whales.

"Some whales feed exclusively in the Southern Ocean - not eating at all during the winter months when they travel up to tropical waters," she said.

"Allowing commercial whaling in an area where whales are so vulnerable goes against all logic."

She also criticised the decision to include fin and sei whales in the quota.

"Both fin and sei whale species were depleted to severely low levels by previous whaling that spun out of control, and they remain endangered as a result.

"Allowing new commercial whaling on these species when they have yet to recover from previous whaling is management madness."

Whaling nations like Japan back the IWC proposals and are arguing for even higher quotas.

But critics, including the UK, US and Australia, are against any deal that could cause an increase in whale hunting.

The IWC will meet in in Agadair, Morocco at the end of this month. Nations will decide on whether to set quotas and the catch that will be allowed. There are also proposals to promote whale watching as an alternative source of income for whaling communities and to protect whales from climate change and over fishing.