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
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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