SHAME ON THE IWC AND THE U.S. DELEGATION FOR LACKING THE MORALITY TO STOP THE SLAUGHTER OF THESE BEAUTIFUL, INTELLIGENT AND STILL ENDANGERED CREATURES OF THE SEA. BOYCOTT JAPANESE, ICELANDIC AND NORWEGIAN PRODUCTS, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON VACATIONS IN THESE COUNTRIES, AND JOIN SEA SHEPHERD IN THEIR FIGHT TO SAVE WHALES AND OTHER OCEAN LIFE!
SLIDESHOW
File - In this Feb. 6, 2009 file photo released by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru, right, hauls a newly caught minke whale up its slipway, accompanied by Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru 2, while a Sea Shepherd helicopter flies over in the Ross Sea, the Antarctic. A quarter-century ban on commercial whaling, one of the world's most successful preservation agreements, could crumble altogether if conservationists cannot persuade Japan to cut back on the tradition it champions. Delegates to a meeting of the International Whaling Commission which starts on Monday, June 21, 2010 in Morocco will consider whether to allow limited commercial hunts if Tokyo stops pursuing whales in a southern sanctuary. (AP Photo/Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Adam Lau) (Adam Lau - AP)
In this photo taken on June 17, 2010, whale meat restaurant Magonotei manager Tomohiro Akio slices a chunk of lean meat of a whale caught in the Antarctic as he prepares for a sashimi dish at its kitchen in Tokyo Thursday, June 17, 2010. Makoto Ito, managing director of Kyodo Senpaku Co., the company that runs the annual Antarctic hunt, said he didn't think they should be ended, because "we need to collect more data." Japan's refusal to give up its Antarctic hunt puzzles even observers within the country. Current coastal catches, also conducted for scientific research, provide fresher meat and are cheaper. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) (Koji Sasahara - AP)
File - In this March 12, 2010 file photo, Japan Coast Guards officials hold a blue sheet to cover Pete Bethune, captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil, following the New Zealander's arrest or illegally boarding the Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 in February upon the ship's return at Harumi pier in Tokyo. A quarter-century ban on commercial whaling, one of the world's most successful preservation agreements, could crumble altogether if conservationists cannot persuade Japan to cut back on the tradition it champions. Delegates to a meeting of the International Whaling Commission which starts on Monday, June 21, 2010 in Morocco will consider whether to allow limited commercial hunts if Tokyo stops pursuing whales in a southern sanctuary. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File) (Itsuo Inouye - AP)
File - In this Feb. 11, 2010 photo released by the Institute of Cetacean Research of Japan, an activist, bottom left, of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's ship the Steve Irwin holds a chemical launcher, aiming at the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru during their latest clash in the Antarctic waters. A quarter-century ban on commercial whaling, one of the world's most successful preservation agreements, could crumble altogether if conservationists cannot persuade Japan to cut back on the tradition it champions. Delegates to a meeting of the International Whaling Commission which starts on Monday, June 21, 2010 in Morocco will consider whether to allow limited commercial hunts if Tokyo stops pursuing whales in a southern sanctuary. (AP Photo/Institute of Cetacean Research, File) (AP) 
In this photo taken on June 17, 2010, whale meat restaurant Magonotei manager Tomohiro Akio shows a sashi dish of raw meat of a whale caught in the Antarctic Ocean at its kitchen in Tokyo Thursday, June 17, 2010. Makoto Ito, managing director of Kyodo Senpaku Co., the company that runs the annual Antarctic hunt, said he didn't think they should be ended, because "we need to collect more data." Japan's refusal to give up its Antarctic hunt puzzles even observers within the country. Current coastal catches, also conducted for scientific research, provide fresher meat and are cheaper. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) (Koji Sasahara - AP)
File - In this April 15, 2008 file photo, Japanese media cover Japan's whaling ship The Nisshin Maru following its return from the Antarctic at a Tokyo pier. A quarter-century ban on commercial whaling, one of the world's most successful preservation agreements, could crumble altogether if conservationists cannot persuade Japan to cut back on the tradition it champions. Delegates to a meeting of the International Whaling Commission which starts on Monday, June 21, 2010 in Morocco will consider whether to allow limited commercial hunts if Tokyo stops pursuing whales in a southern sanctuary. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File) (Itsuo Inouye - AP)
Press and members outside the IWC meeting venue in Agadir, Morocco, Sunday June 20, 2010. The IWC, the international body that regulates whaling, will gather for its 62 annual meeting next week in Agadir. The meeting is expected to seek a compromise between pro- and anti-whaling countries, which may include allowing commercial whaling on a limited scale.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar) (Abdeljalil Bounhar - AP)
A Moroccan women passes by posters outside the IWC meeting venue in Agadir, Morocco, Sunday June 20, 2010. The IWC, the international body that regulates whaling, will gather for its 62nd annual meeting next week in Agadir. The meeting is expected to seek a compromise between pro- and anti-whaling countries, which may include allowing commercial whaling on a limited scale.(AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar) (Abdeljalil Bounhar - AP)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010; 9:41 AM
Washington Post Staff Writers
Three years of talks aimed at reducing whaling activity by Japan, Norway and Iceland broke down Wednesday, leaving management of the population of the world's largest animals essentially in the hands of whale hunters.
Anthony Liverpool, the acting chairman of the International Whaling Commission, told delegates meeting in Agadir, Morocco, that "fundamental positions remained very much apart," The Associated Press reported.
The goal of the Morocco meeting was to forge a 10-year compromise that would create a legal framework to allow limited whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland. Currently, all types of whale hunting are banned by the commission, but the three whale-hunting nations consistently ignore the bans and have caught thousands of the mammals since the 1980s under loopholes in the law.
Delegates of the commission's 88 member governments were trying to work out a plan proposed by the United States and other anti-whaling nations to let the three countries conduct whaling expeditions, but under tight international control and at significantly lower numbers.
The Japanese government says that its whaling activity is for scientific purposes, but critics say the Japanese hunts are in reality commercial.
"We are deeply disappointed that the governments present here, after more than three years of intense work, could not reach a solution that will benefit whale conservation," said Sue Lieberman, Director of International Policy for the Pew Environmental Group.
" In particular, the lack of sufficient flexibility of Japan to phase out its whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary prevented a decision from being adopted. Continuation of the impasse here may retain the whaling moratorium on paper, but unregulated whaling outside of IWC control, by Japan, Norway, and Iceland, will now be able to continue."
Junichi Sato, the director of Greenpeace Japan, said in a statement that it was "time for real political action and consequences to be brought to end Japan's bogus scientific whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and the commercial hunts of Norway and Iceland."
Jemma Jones, a spokeswoman for the commission, declined to comment. Hideki Moronuki, an official with the Japanese delegation, said he could not immediately comment either.
The talks became even more contentious after The Sunday Times of London reported that that Japan had been offering aid to fisheries in poor nations in an effort to gain those countries' votes. The newspaper conducted a sting operation where several nations wearing hidden cameras caught officials discussing the price of their support.
Both the Japanese government and officials from other nations who were named in the stories denied accusations of bribery.
The compromise proposal was controversial among environmental groups as well, some of whom opposed the notion of any legal whaling.
"Under a cloud of corruption allegations the IWC is taking a safe course, opting for a cooling off period that protects the moratorium and other IWC conservation measures," said Patrick Ramage, Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Global Whale Campaign. "Had it been done here, this deal would have lived in infamy."
The goal of the Morocco meeting was to forge a 10-year compromise that would create a legal framework to allow limited whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland. Currently, all types of whale hunting are banned by the commission, but the three whale-hunting nations consistently ignore the bans and have caught thousands of the mammals since the 1980s under loopholes in the law.
Delegates of the commission's 88 member governments were trying to work out a plan proposed by the United States and other anti-whaling nations to let the three countries conduct whaling expeditions, but under tight international control and at significantly lower numbers.
The talks reportedly failed over the issue of how many whales Japan could kill in the waters off Antarctica, where Japanese whalers hunt hundreds of whales each year. The compromise plan also called for a gradual phase-out of the Japanese hunt in the South Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and Japanese officials balked at that step.
"We are deeply disappointed that the governments present here, after more than three years of intense work, could not reach a solution that will benefit whale conservation," said Sue Lieberman, Director of International Policy for the Pew Environmental Group.
" In particular, the lack of sufficient flexibility of Japan to phase out its whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary prevented a decision from being adopted. Continuation of the impasse here may retain the whaling moratorium on paper, but unregulated whaling outside of IWC control, by Japan, Norway, and Iceland, will now be able to continue."
Junichi Sato, the director of Greenpeace Japan, said in a statement that it was "time for real political action and consequences to be brought to end Japan's bogus scientific whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, and the commercial hunts of Norway and Iceland."
Jemma Jones, a spokeswoman for the commission, declined to comment. Hideki Moronuki, an official with the Japanese delegation, said he could not immediately comment either.
The talks became even more contentious after The Sunday Times of London reported that that Japan had been offering aid to fisheries in poor nations in an effort to gain those countries' votes. The newspaper conducted a sting operation where several nations wearing hidden cameras caught officials discussing the price of their support.
Both the Japanese government and officials from other nations who were named in the stories denied accusations of bribery.
The compromise proposal was controversial among environmental groups as well, some of whom opposed the notion of any legal whaling.
"Under a cloud of corruption allegations the IWC is taking a safe course, opting for a cooling off period that protects the moratorium and other IWC conservation measures," said Patrick Ramage, Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare's Global Whale Campaign. "Had it been done here, this deal would have lived in infamy."
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