There has been an update from the International Whaling Commission which recently met. Unfortunately, this is a toothless organization without the power to enforce their regulations. An exemption to the original 1986 moratorium on whaling has been for scientific research. The Japanese have seized on this exemption and claim that what they are doing is conducting research. However, what they are doing is shooting whales with harpoon guns, haul them onto their factory ships and cut them up and box them for consumption. No research involved. The Sea Shepherd has courageously brought this issue to the international community through their very popular show "Whale Wars. There has been a recent update from the International Whaling Commission which basically states that they will revisit the issue. Meanwhile, the Sea Shepherd is in the Southern Oceans filming, intercepting and preventing illegal Japanese whalers. Like many of the historical social issues that we, as a species have confronted, commercial whaling like slavery, is cruel, unnecessary and immoral.
Excerpt from the Chair's Report on the Small Working Group on the Future of Whaling.
"This consensus decision among all 88 members of the IWC seeks to reconcile differences in views about how whales are managed as a resource while strengthening the unified goal of maintaining healthy whale populations and recovering depleted stocks. This effort represents a paradigm shift in the way the Commission will carry out its mandate. This shift will bring all whaling under the control of the IWC, create a cooperative environment for addressing issues related to whales, and reform the framework for that cooperation. The focus will be on a shared vision for the Commissions future.
This way forward will improve the conservation of whales worldwide. The Commission will address conservation issues as a priority since whales face new threats to their existence in comparison to when the Commission was established in 1946. Environmental and human-induced threats are increasing and demand a new approach and therefore new efforts by the Commission. In this regard, every member government is committed to the conservation of whales.
Fundamental components of this consensus decision are to: bring whaling by all members under the control of the IWC; reduce catch levels significantly; limit operations to those members who currently take whales; establish caps that are within sustainable levels for a ten year period; enhance monitoring and control measures; create a South Atlantic sanctuary; and provide a mechanism for enterprise and capacity building for developing countries. Members agree not to authorize whaling outside IWC control and not to exceed the prescribed catch limits (Appendix A). Subsistence whaling by indigenous people that was previously approved by the Commission will continue under existing management measures. The Commission will now refer to aboriginal subsistence whaling as indigenous subsistence whaling.
