Commercial Whaling May Once Again Continue: Vote at IWC Weakens Commercial Whaling Ban

We’ll see what happens today. Yet, not good news.

Very sad. Even more, like typical spoiled, rich babies, the “winners” then actually rub it in to the anti-whaling side and then disallow them to speak. Gee, wonder where we’ve seen this before. These quotes sum it up:

“The Japanese applauded -- which was met by head-shaking from whaling opponents. The winners shouted "sore losers'' at opponents when they tried to continue debating the resolution after the vote. The Irish delegate looked despaired, holding his head in his hands.

Representatives of anti-whaling countries were booed and shouted down after they yelled into the microphone that they did not recognize Iceland as an IWC member because it had previously dropped out. Delegates from both sides traded barbs, talking over each other to try to get their reactions heard for the record.”

Article:

Vote at IWC weakens commercial whaling ban

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Updated Sun. Jun. 18 2006 11:29 PM ET

Associated Press

A slim majority of countries on the International Whaling Commission voted Sunday in support of a resumption of commercial whaling, but pro-whaling countries still lack the numbers needed to overturn a 20-year-old ban.

The resolution, approved 33-32 with one abstention, declares that the moratorium on commercial whaling was meant to be temporary and is no longer needed.

But to reverse the ban imposed in 1986, another vote supported by 75 per cent of the 70 IWC members would be required.

The IWC meeting on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts erupted in shouting and finger-pointing after the vote on the resolution authored by six Caribbean countries and backed by the major pro-whaling countries Norway, Iceland, Japan and Russia.

The Japanese applauded -- which was met by head-shaking from whaling opponents. The winners shouted "sore losers'' at opponents when they tried to continue debating the resolution after the vote. The Irish delegate looked despaired, holding his head in his hands.

Representatives of anti-whaling countries were booed and shouted down after they yelled into the microphone that they did not recognize Iceland as an IWC member because it had previously dropped out. Delegates from both sides traded barbs, talking over each other to try to get their reactions heard for the record.

Still it was not immediately clear what impact the vote would have.

"This shows the power balance is shifting, but it really shows that both sides need to sit down, compromise and stop yelling from the trenches,'' said Rune Frovik, of pro-whaling group High North Alliance.

Glenn Inwood, a spokesman for the Japanese delegation, said the vote was a "historic moment.''

"It's the first serious setback for those against whaling in years. It's only a matter of time before the commercial ban is overturned,'' he predicted.

Delegates from small Caribbean and African countries said the resolution -- the first of its kind since the ban -- was needed to force the IWC to take up its original mandate of managing whale hunts and not banning them altogether. The backers have been pushing to lift the ban, saying it was a way to protect fish stocks from whales and give their small islands food security.

"We're dealing with an ecosystem where whales are on top of the food chain,'' said Daven Joseph, an IWC delegate from St. Kitts and Nevis.

"That's like blaming woodpeckers for deforestation,'' countered Vassili Papastavrou, a whale biologist for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "The real issue is overfishing, not whales.''

The resolution was drafted by St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Dominica and Antigua.

Chris Carter, New Zealand's Conservation Minister, said though the vote was significant, it marked a hollow victory.

"It will ultimately lead to the defeat of Japan's pro-whaling ambitions,'' he said, noting it would show the world what is going on within the IWC.

"Japan had a long, expensive campaign to achieve a whaling majority, which they got today,'' he added, referring to allegations that Japan has bought votes by giving fishing aid to developing countries.

Japan and other pro-whaling countries had lost four previous and more significant pro-whaling votes at the meeting, thwarting their predicted takeover of the organization.

But with each vote, conservationists have become more worried that pro-whaling countries will eventually control the commission.

"This is going to wake people up and cause a big backlash, but it's also pretty bad, too,'' said Javier Figueroa, of the Argentinian delegation, which opposes commercial whaling.

Both Japan and Iceland kill whales for scientific research -- which critics call a sham -- and sell the carcasses. Norway ignores the moratorium and openly conducts commercial whaling.

Environmental groups have accused developing countries of voting with Japan in return for money for fisheries projects -- which Japan and those countries have repeatedly denied.

Caribbean tourism officials have said they are concerned that their countries' support of whaling might lead travellers to boycott the region.

"Such threats are tantamount to economic terrorism,'' said Joanne Massiah, Food Production and Marine Resources Minister for the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda.

The IWC conference was set to continue on Monday.