INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION, BERLIN, 16TH-19TH JUNE 2003
(DEPARTMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE OF 13 JUNE 2003)
A UK-backed move to strengthen the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) conservation mandate will take centre-stage at next week's IWC meeting in Berlin, Fisheries Minister Elliot Morley said today.
Dubbed the 'Berlin Initiative', the new proposals will be presented to the four-day meeting by a number of conservationist countries, including the UK.
To date, the 60 year-old regulatory body's prime aim has been to manage the exploitation of whale stocks, rather than to conserve whale populations. However, a moratorium on commercial whaling was introduced in the mid-1980s because many whales were hunted to near extinction. The adoption of the Berlin Initiative would mean an important shift of emphasis toward conservation, and help secure whale protection for the longer term.
Expressing his support for the Initiative, Elliot Morley said:
'A modern IWC - and one that really does save the whale and protect other cetaceans including dolphins and porpoises - must have conservation values at its core. The Berlin Initiative proposals swap old-style whale 'exploitation' for a longer-term, look-ahead philososphy based on environmental protection.'
At the meeting pro-whaling nations Norway, Japan and Iceland (the latter readmitted to the IWC at a Special Meeting in October 2002 by a one-vote majority) are set to push for a resumption of commercial whaling with very limited IWC supervision and control regulation.
The UK is strongly opposed to all forms of whaling other than some subsistence whaling by indigenous peoples. It will strongly resist any attempt to lift the current world ban on commercial whaling and will oppose the introduction of any measures that would undermine the ban.
Elliot Morley said:
'There are no reliable stock estimates to suggest an abundant whale species. No stock has recovered to its pre-exploitation levels. But despite warnings of precipitous decline of stocks whaling nations have chosen to continue killing whales. Worse still, their operations have been extended to include whales classified as endangered'.
Other items on the IWC meeting's agenda include:
- A proposal by newly-readmitted Iceland to kill 100 fin, 50 sei and 100 minke whales per year in the name of scientific research (UK to register its strong objection and urge Iceland to reconsider)
- A report from the 'Whale Killing Methods & Associated Welfare Issues' Workshop on killing methods in use and under development, times to death and collection of welfare data (UK participated in workshop and urged whaling nations to commit themselves to improving whale killing methods.)
Proposals to establish two new whale sanctuaries, in the South Atlantic and South Pacific, in addition to those that already exist in the Indian Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean (UK in favour, three-quarters majority needed)
The 55th meeting of the International Whaling Commission takes place in Berlin from 16th-19th June 2003. A factsheet on the IWC is attached.
IWC Factsheet
The IWC was set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICWR), which was signed in December 1946. The Convention is an agreement drawn up on whaling, which sets out the objectives which members must subscribe to, and the rules by which the IWC will be governed. The schedule attached to the Convention contains the principal rules limiting whaling and providing for its management; it has been frequently amended by the IWC.
The purpose of the ICRW is to safeguard whale stocks for future generations, and provide for the proper and effective conservation of whale stocks, making possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.
The main duty of the IWC is to review/revise measures laid down in the Schedule to the Convention, to regulate whaling operations by vessels under the jurisdiction of contracting governments. The measures protect certain species, designate sanctuaries and set limits on numbers/sizes caught, amongst other things.
The Commission also co-ordinates and funds whale research. Any country which formally adheres to the 1946 Convention is eligible for membership.
Each member country is represented by a Commissioner (who is assisted by advisers). The present Chairman is Prof. Bo Fernholm of Sweden, and the Vice-Chairman is Com. Henrik Fischer of Denmark. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected by the Commissioners, and they usually hold office for 3 years.
List of member countries:
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Benin, Brazil, Chile, People's Republic of China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominica, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Republic of Guinea, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, United Kingdom, Senegal, Peru, San Marino, USA 36, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Russian Federation, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Nicaragua, Gabon 47, Palau, Mongolia, Portugal, Iceland.
Please note that Costa Rica, Kenya and Senegal are in arrears to the Commission, and therefore may not be able to vote in Berlin. Further information can be found on the IWC website: www.iwcoffice.org
