The International Whaling Commission (IWC)
Photography: © GreenpeaceWhat is the IWC?
The
International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established in
1946 as the decision-making body of the International Convention
on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW).
Originally, the IWC had
only 15 member nations – primarily
those that were actively involved in commercial whaling.
Over the years, as the issue of whale conservation grew,
so did the IWC’s membership. Today, there are 78 member
nations of the IWC, representing all continents.
In 1986,
realizing the great negative impact that commercial whaling
was having on whale populations around the globe, the IWC
implemented a moratorium on commercial whaling – effectively
creating a global ban on commercial whaling.
The whaling ban
has provided the world’s great whales
with a much-needed respite from large-scale commercial whaling.
The moratorium protects the following whale species – sei,
minke, fin, blue, right, bowhead, humpback, pygmy right,
gray, Bryde’s, sperm and bottlenose whales.
Although
some countries are legitimately allowed to continue small-scale “aboriginal
subsistence” whale hunting, the ban on commercial whaling sets zero catch
quotas for commercial purposes, and will do so until a ¾ majority of
IWC member governments votes to change this. Despite continued whaling in breach
of the moratorium by Japan, Norway and Iceland, the moratorium has been a great
conservation success. Before the moratorium, tens of thousands of great whales
were killed every year and without doubt many whale populations would now be
extinct if the IWC had not implemented the moratorium.
However, despite the
ban, several whaling nations continue their whaling practices citing an IWC
resolution that allows lethal whale research to be carried out. This has become
known as “scientific whaling” and is highly criticized
by anti-whaling member nations of the IWC. Each year, more
than 2,000 whales are killed under the sanction of allowable “scientific
whaling.”
The result is that the IWC has now been divided into a pro-whaling
camp – led by Japan, Norway and Iceland; and an anti-whaling
camp led by Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US. The
pro-whalers regularly attempt to propose resolutions that
would reverse the whaling moratorium, while anti-whalers
strive for a more conservation oriented agenda for the IWC,
and have passed several resolutions denouncing so-called “scientific
whaling.”
To counter this, in recent years, Japan has lobbied for
the support of several small island nations across the Caribbean
and Pacific to join the IWC and to vote with them for the
whaling moratorium to be lifted. Critics claim that the votes
of some of these member nations are “bought” by
Japan using fisheries development aid funding, and that the
pro-whaling voice of these nation’s representatives
to the IWC do not reflect the views of the general public
from these nations.The Caribbean countries of St. Lucia,
Antigua & Barbuda, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines
were all IWC members in 1982 and voted in favor of the whaling
moratorium. Although a member at the time, Dominica did not
vote on the moratorium and left the IWC in 1983, rejoining
in 1992 and supporting Japan’s position. After the
moratorium was implemented in 1986, St. Lucia and St. Vincent
and the Grenadines changed their position in favor of Japan’s
pro-whaling policies, a move that was swiftly followed by
new Japanese fisheries aid grants to those countries. Grenada
and St. Kitts & Nevis joined the IWC in the early 1990s
and have voted consistently with Japan on key issues, although
St. Kitts & Nevis did not obtain voting rights until
1999. Antigua & Barbuda changed its position to a pro-whaling
one in 1996, after being the only Caribbean country to cast
a vote in favor of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in
1994.
Photography: © Chris JohnsonHow does
the IWC work?
IWC members meet annual to review and discuss key issues
and to vote on newly proposed measures. The next and 60th
meeting of the IWC is scheduled for June 2008 in Santiago,
Chile. A rotating, elected member of the commission chairs
the IWC. Currently, Dr. William Hogarth of the U.S. serves
as the chairman, while Mr. Minoru Morimoto of Japan serves
as the Vice-Chair.
The annual IWC meeting is preceded
by a two-week meeting of the Scientific Committee, where
a large group of government scientists and invited experts
discuss issues such as whale biology, population numbers,
small cetacean issues and environmental issues affecting
whales.
Photography: © Claire Bass / EIA
Between the Scientific Committee and the Commission
meeting, a series of working groups and technical committees
meet, to discuss a variety of issues that are then reported
to the Commission meeting, along with the Scientific Committee
report. The Scientific Committee and sub-group reports are confidential until
the first day of the Commission meeting.
NGO observers can attend IWC meetings,
but are generally not allowed on the floor to make interventions. Media representatives
are also present at the Commission meeting.
Photography: © Claire Bass /
EIA For full details
of the IWC and the upcoming 60th meeting of the IWC in Santiago,
Chile in June 2008, please visit: www.iwcoffice.org.
A list of documents including the agenda and many background
documents are also available on the site.
Photography: © BreathtakingWhales.com IWC
60 – Santiago, Chile
IWC 59 – Anchorage,
Alaska
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