Whaling

Govt warned not to aid whaling surveillance. :

"The anti-whaling organisation Sea Shepherd says its ship deliberately side-swiped a Japanese whaling supply ship yesterday."

We saw the footage of the Sea Shepherd on the news tonight and I didn't think it would have helped the anti whaling cause as Robert McLelland pointed out. The situation is becoming difficult, to say the least, because we are very much an anti whaling nation and we have been quite clear about that. The Southern Ocean is in our area...whose waters are they? Green Peace has been out there trying to get our message across and the IWC appears to have sent mixed messages. We cannot support the slaughter of a thousand whales.

This is not the first time Japan has upset a nation by whaling off its coast because it disturbed Argentina in 2001 when they had whales being slaughtered in their ocean:

Japanese Embassy defends whale hunting in Argentina

This artcile was written in June and explains why Australia and Japan do not particularly see eye to eye on whaling and how the nations in our area tend to support Japan rather than Australia. Tahiti appears to be as keen to protect the whales as we are. It's a very well written article and identifies the stumbling blocks:

Whales off the menu


"Japan and its island allies have remorselessly pushed for the IWC to revert to what it was and what,

according to its charter, they say it should still be. The commission was established in 1946 to

provide for the proper preservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of

the whaling industry.

The anti-whalers are fighting to keep the IWC as it evolved after the general moratorium and earlier

bans on hunting at-risk species: a whale preservation and protection organisation. Or, more

accurately, the whale protection group because, unlike dozens of organisations claiming to save

whales, the IWC regulates member governments with the force of international treaty. "


The IWC has recognised that the Southern Hemisphere Whales really are endangered and has sought to set up a sanctuary here and to support moves for us to help re-establish the whale populations:

South Pacific whale sanctuary



"Today, the populations of most species of baleen whales in the Southern Hemisphere remain well below

pre-exploitation levels, and any evidence of recovery is unevenly distributed across species. The

Scientific Committee agreed at IWC52 that Southern Hemisphere humpback whales, particularly Group V,

which migrate along Australia's east coast, were recovering in some parts of their range, but remained

at a fraction of their original numbers. Despite fifteen years of protection under the IWC moratorium

on commercial whaling, humpbacks have still not reappeared in significant numbers in Fiji, Vanuatu or

New Zealand (Baker, 2000). Abundance estimates for Southern Hemisphere minke whale populations are

uncertain and are being revised. Further, the Scientific Committee agreed that the Southern Hemisphere

blue whale population, at between 400 and 1400 animals, is still a tiny fraction of its

pre-exploitation level."


BUT, Japan was at the IWC meeting last year and explained how the moratorium on whaling was adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of four of its areas and so the IWC acknowledged that so that IWC members might support Japan in its time of adversity:

Resolution on Japanese community-based whaling

"NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMMISSION

Reaffirms the Commission’s commitment to work expeditiously to alleviate the continued difficulties caused by the cessation of minke whaling to the communities of Abashiri, Ayukawa, Wadaura and Taiji,

and

Encourages IWC members to co-operate towards a resolution of this matter."

So where does that leave us? In a muddle. Since the IWC is the world body responsible for whales on the planet, then I suggest as a matter of urgency members of the IWC, Japan, Australia, Greenpeace, any other party with a vested interest should meet on neutral territory and sort this out in an intelligent fashion.