'Clean-up bid' tops agenda for whaling meet

Richard Black BBC News 10 Jul 11;

Whaling by indigenous peoples and reforms to prevent "votes for cash" allegations are set to top the agenda at this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Jersey.

Previous years have seen ire directed at Japan over its Antarctic hunts.

But Japan's current plans are unclear, with its policy under review.

The UK is proposing reforms to make the IWC more open, while some campaigners are angry about US plans to maintain hunting by Alaskan native peoples.

The meeting in the Channel Islands is also discussing proposals to ensure good practice in the whale-watching industry worldwide, and a bid to make the South Atlantic a sanctuary for whales.

Anti-whaling countries are expected to criticise Iceland and Norway over their continuation of commercial hunting.

But criticism of Japan is likely to be more muted than usual, following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.
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US meddling is so serious as to warrant bringing 'Aboriginal' whaling from under the rug where everyone tries to keep it”

Jose Truda Palazzo Cetacean Conservation Center

"There's been a huge loss of life in coastal communities in Japan, including among many in the fishing industry and those associated with whaling - that's understood, and our sympathies go out to them," said UK Environment Minister Richard Benyon.

"Japan is a country that Britain is close to and supportive of in their hour of need - but we do disagree on whaling, and we aim to... have a constructive conversation about it," he told BBC News.

It is not clear that Japan intends to continue with its annual Antarctic hunt, conducted under regulations permitting whaling for scientific research.

The most recent whaling season ended early, with officials admitting the fleet could not cope with harassment by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessels.

A committee composed mainly of academics is reviewing the existing policy, which is costing the government more and more money as demand for whale meat falls; but its conclusions will not emerge until later this year.

However, whaling around the Japanese coast is continuing, despite the destruction by the tsunami of Ayukawa, one of the main ports.
Cash questions

The most eye-catching of the UK reform proposals is that governments should have to pay their membership subscriptions by bank transfer, creating an auditable trail.

Currently, subscriptions can be paid in cash, and rumours abound of developing countries' delegations turning up with bags full of money - with anti-whaling campaigners claiming the money came from Japan, in return for that country's support.

Immediately before last year's meeting, the Sunday Times newspaper published reports from undercover journalists that suggested some small countries that traditionally supported Japan would be willing to change sides in return for funding.

"[The IWC] has been going since 1946, and it needs to modernise its procedures so it doesn't leave itself open to the kinds of allegations made a year ago," said Mr Benyon.

Other components of the proposed reforms include prompt publication of minutes and decisions, the acceptance only of properly reviewed science, and more involvement for non-governmental organisations.

The UK proposal failed to find unanimous EU support - reportedly because Denmark, which represents Greenlanders rather than Danes within the IWC, would not back it.

And Tomas Heidar, who heads Iceland's delegation, suggested it would not meet with universal approval.

"There are some elements in the proposal that are totally unacceptable to us," he said.

Iceland recently embarked on talks with the EU over joining the 27-nation bloc. With the EU opposed to whaling, it could prove to be an important issue, alongside wider concerns that EU fishing boats could be given access to the fecund Icelandic waters.
Rising respect

Last year's IWC meeting in Morocco marked the end of a two-year "peace process" attempting to find a compromise between pro- and anti-whaling nations.

It came to nothing, although both blocs say relations between the parties are more constructive as a result.

"The atmosphere within the IWC has improved and relations between delegations on the two sides have improved - there's more respect for different views and it is now less likely that the IWC will fall apart," Mr Heidar told BBC News.

"We don't expect much to happen at this meeting, but we will naturally make use of the event to underline our policy which is all about sustainable use of living marine resources. In recent years we have experienced a growing understanding for this concept."

The US played a leading role in the "peace process", which garnered it a lot of criticism from some anti-whaling organisations.

This year, along with New Zealand, the US has tabled a motion asking the IWC to "encourage continuing dialogue" between governments regarding the commission's future.

Some campaigners say this shows the US is continuing to appease Japan so it will not block a bid to renew subsistence hunting quotas for indigenous Inupiat communities in Alaska when that issue comes up for review next year.

Indigenous (or Aboriginal) whaling is usually relatively uncontroversial, despite the fact that its record is markedly worse than commercial hunts in terms of how long whales take to die; but that may not be the case this time.

"The issue of US meddling is so serious as to warrant bringing the 'Aboriginal' whaling issue from under the rug where most everyone tries to keep it," said Jose Truda Palazzo of the Latin American Cetacean Conservation Center.

"It is widely known that most communities who benefit from this exemption no longer actually 'need' it for survival, although some arguably do have cultural claims.

"Latin America has an enormous discomfort with what the US has been doing over the 'Future of the IWC' process in trying to pass appeasement resolutions for a deal at any cost to get Japanese support for its quotas in 2012, and also we would like to have to have a wider, more open review of the legitimacy of aboriginal claims."

The IWC meeting, in the Jersey capital St Helier, runs until Thursday.


IWC leadership needed for whale conservation
WWF 11 Jul 11;

Jersey, UK – As the 63rd meeting of the International Whaling Commission opens, WWF is urging governments to take urgent steps to address the severe threats to whales, dolphins and porpoises from expanding shipping, offshore oil and gas, entanglement in fishing gear, and noise in the oceans.

The marine environment has never before been under such great pressure, and several whale, dolphin and porpoise species are on the brink of extinction. Possibly fewer than 130 Western North Pacific gray whales remain, yet offshore oil and gas projects near their feeding grounds are expanding ever further. One company is planning to build an oil platform directly adjacent to the most important area for the whales – where mother whales teach their calves to feed. The world’s smallest cetacean, the vaquita, has just 245 animals remaining, due to entanglement in gillnets which prevent the animals from coming to the surface to breath. Entanglement in fishing gear kills 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises each year.

“In the 21st century whales the world’s oceans are in crisis. Oil and gas operations, shipping, and irresponsible fishing are decimating several whale and dolphin species,” said Wendy Elliott, WWF’s Head of Delegation for the IWC meeting. “The IWC must become more effective in dealing with vast number of threats to whales in our oceans and seas. This will be a challenge, but is also an opportunity for the IWC to become a modern and effective body.”

Governments also have an opportunity at this meeting to improve transparency within the IWC, with concrete measures on the table to improve the IWC’s effectiveness.

“Governments must grasp the opportunity to improve the IWC’s effectiveness with both hands – any failure to do so will further relegate the IWC into the past,” Elliott said.

Effectiveness of the IWC

Up for discussion at this week’s meeting is a proposal put forward by the UK government that addresses the effectiveness and transparency of the IWC. The resolution suggests practical ways to tackle difficult issues that have prevented IWC from reaching its full potential. WWF supports the proposed reforms as a first step toward bringing IWC in line with the standards of other international agreements.

IWC and whale conservation

Human-induced threats are becoming increasingly pervasive in our oceans. Bycatch, pollution, habitat destruction, unsustainable fishing, oil and gas exploration and development, shipping, aquaculture, marine debris and climate change are all taking their toll on whales and their habitats, and in turn, are threatening the local communities that depend on coastal environments for their livelihoods and survival.

The IWC has already made considerable progress on cetacean conservation, but more needs to be done to secure the survival of all species. A good place to start would be to increasing funding for the conservation programmes currently underway by IWC and its committees. Governments should also use this week to share intelligence about conservation methods that can be implemented independently in their own waters to reduce the numerous threats facing whales, and to drive the IWC towards addressing important conservation issues such as noise pollution in our oceans.

Smart solutions to ship strikes

Ship strikes are one of the many growing threats to whales across the globe, and can also cause significant damage to vessels and injury to passengers. The IWC Ship Strikes Working Group is examining the problem and suggesting measures to reduce the risk of ships hitting and killing whales, such as speed reductions and alternative route planning. Also in the works through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a mandatory code for ships operating in Arctic and Antarctic waters, known as the Polar Code. WWF encourages governments participating in the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee this week to ensure that effective measures to reduce the risk of ship strikes are included in the Polar Code. The waters around the earth’s poles are two of the most important habitats for cetaceans globally.

Western gray whales on the brink

WWF is extremely concerned about the impact of industrial activities on critically endangered Western North Pacific gray whales in the Russian Far East. Oil and gas operations close to the whales’ feeding grounds are of particular concern as the loss of just one or two breeding females each year could lead to extinction of the population. The impacts of multiple industrial activities that took place last year in the waters around Sakhalin Island are likely to have been severe, yet Sakhalin Energy, a consortium of Shell, Gazprom, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, has announced plans for the development of an additional oil platform. Twenty NGOs have signed a Statement of Concern opposing the platform, which could have a potentially devastating impact on the whales.

The Russian Government took a bold step for Western gray whales by imposing a regulation that will require developers in a new oil exploration block to conduct activities only from late November to late May, when the whales are away from their summer feeding grounds. WWF asks Russia to expand that requirement to all exploration blocks in the vicinity of Western gray whale feeding area, and to reject proposals from Sakhalin Energy for the construction of a new offshore platform. WWF also invites governments of other Western gray whale range states to amplify Russia’s conservation efforts by implementing similar time-space closures for cetacean populations in their own waters where oil and gas operations may occur.

Noisy oceans

Whales use sound as their primary sense to communicate, to find food, find a mate and to avoid predators. Excessive noise in the ocean can impede the ability of whales to conduct these basic tasks and even cause hearing damage. Industrial activities such as shipping, industrial extraction, marine construction or military activities are creating a cacophony of noise that can have a severe impact on the ability of whales to survive. To experience for yourself what it’s like to be a whale in noisy waters visit our new interactive website Don't be a Buckethead.