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International Whaling Commission fails to find a way forward for whales Agadir, Morocco – 23 June, 2010 Dr Susan Lieberman, director of international policy for the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement today in response the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) Annual Meeting concluding without any results from the three-year effort to reconcile the impasse between pro-whaling and anti-whaling countries. “We are deeply disappointed that the governments present here, after more than 3 years of intense work, could not reach a solution that will benefit whale conservation. In particular, the lack of sufficient flexibility shown by 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". “We had hoped that for the first time since World War II, the waters of the Southern Ocean--the fragile waters off of Antarctica--would finally be free of high seas whaling vessels. The key reaching that positive outcome at this meeting was always in Japan’s hands—and now only Japan can decide if the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will exist in reality, or only on paper".
“This year has seen the failure of international efforts to guarantee the future of Atlantic bluefin tuna, several species of sharks, coral species, and now whales, at the CITES meetings earlier this year, and now IWC. Japan, the country with the most active role in defeating all of these marine conservation measures, is hosting the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity this October. The conference will give Japan the opportunity to finally reverse course and show leadership in marine biodiversity conservation”. Contact: Dan Klotz, +1 347-307-2866 / dklotz@pewtrusts.org The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-governmental organization headquartered in the United States that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life. www.pewtrusts.org Joint statement by Greenpeace, Pew and WWF at the opening of the annual meeting of the IWC Agadir – 21 June, 2010 WWF, Greenpeace and the Pew Environment Group believe that the IWC's commercial whaling moratorium must be maintained, and we fully support it. We believe that in addition to maintaining the moratorium on commercial whaling, the six fundamental elements we have outlined must also be included in any agreement that emerges from the IWCs meeting in Agadir. The six fundamental elements can be found on the websites of our respective organizations. It is vital that the integrity of the moratorium be secured, and this week’s agreement with the six fundamental elements we are advocating would be a major step in this direction. Without the continuation of the moratorium there is no way a three quarters majority could be attained for an agreement in the IWC, and therefore the maintenance of the moratorium is unquestionable. While the moratorium remains in the schedule, the proposed package would create temporary exceptions to be determined for some species in some areas, and only for those governments that currently undertake commercial whaling. To continue reading click here Click here to go to the picture gallery of the opening session
Pew Seeks Landmark Conservation Solutions at Washington – June 16, 2010 Listen to the recording of the Pew, Greenpeace and WWF Telepress Conference. Efforts to finally bring an end to the impasse between pro-whaling and anti-whaling countries in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will be the focus of the IWC’s Annual Meeting, opening in Agadir, Morocco, on Monday, June 21. The “Save the Whales” campaign of the 1970s and 1980s mobilized governments and the public around the world behind the moratorium on commercial whaling, which was enacted by the IWC in 1982 and implemented in 1986. Twenty-four years later, however, three countries—Japan, Norway and Iceland—continue to kill whales for commercial purposes. Japan hunts under the guise of “scientific whaling,” and Norway and Iceland have filed official objections that allow them to ignore the moratorium. In 2007, the IWC launched a process to find consensus between diametrically opposed views of whale conservation and whaling among its member states. That process is expected to end at this 62nd meeting of the IWC. It is unclear what direction the Commission will take: whether it will agree on a way forward that will improve long-term whale conservation, continue with the sta tus quo or worse. To continue reading click here Joint Statement by Greenpeace, Pew and WWF: Cliquez ici pour télécharger la version en français Submission by the Pew Environment Group on the “IWC Proposed Consensus Decision to Improve the Conservation of Whales” Washington- 26 April, 2010
To continue reading click here Pew Says Adjusted Compromise on Whaling Falls Short; Previously Agreed Sanctuary Must Be Respected Washington- 22 April, 2010 Susan Lieberman, director of international policy for the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement in response to the proposal released today by the Chair (Cristian Maquieira of Chile) and Vice-Chair (Anthony Liverpool, Antigua and Barbuda) of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The proposal will be considered at the IWC's annual meeting this June, in Agadir, Morocco. “The negotiations on the future of the IWC have moved forward with many potential benefits, but unacceptable provisions remain. The draft compromise would allow whaling by Japan in the waters surrounding Antarctica to continue. The safe haven of the IWC-declared Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary – and the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whaling – should be set in stone, not set aside. “The proposal released today would phase down but not eliminate the number of whales killed by the annual expedition of Japan’s industrial whaling fleet into the environmentally sensitive Southern Ocean and includes a quota for endangered fin whales, which is objectionable. This high seas sanctuary for whales, including endangered fin and humpback whales, must be respected. To continue reading click here Media Coverage McCully: NZ will not accept IWC whaling proposal Marine Mammal Symposium in the Caribbean: Building Local, Sustainable «Blue» Tourism March 2010, St. Luce, Martinique The “Marine Mammal Symposium”, co-sponsored by the Comité Martiniquais du Tourisme (CMT), the Conseil Générale de la Martinique (CGM), the Conseil Régional de Martinique (CRM), the Eastern Caribbean Coalition for Environmental Awareness (ECCEA), the Pew Environment Group (PEG) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) took place 18-21 February, 2010 at the Hotel Amyris in St. Luce, Martinique. The experiences shared and lessons learned from whale watching operations and long term benign scientific research carried out in several countries of the Wider Caribbean Region, the Pacific Islands, the Indian Ocean and the Americas, informed the discussions and gave rise to recommendations which were sent to governments and NGOs alike. Click here for full details. Tokelau Declares Newest Pacific Whale Sanctuary, Highlights Global Momentum for Whale Conservation AUCKLAND, April 14, 2010 Tokelau, a territory in the South Pacific, declared its waters to be a whale sanctuary today, the eleventh such designation in the Pacific. The announcement took place at the start of a symposium marking the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium’s tenth anniversary. “Tokelau’s decision to declare its exclusive economic zone a sanctuary for whales is based on our firm belief that we share a common responsibility in the Pacific for the protection of these species. Whales don’t recognize national boundaries and Tokelau would be remiss if we failed to support our Pacific island neighbours in the quest to help recovery of the whales in our region,” said Honourable Aliki Faipule Foua Toloa of Tokelau. Despite a global moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986 and the establishment of the Southern Ocean as an international whale sanctuary in 1994, more than 1,500 whales are hunted and killed each year for their meat. Hundreds of thousands of whales and dolphins are also killed or harmed by ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and pollution; many species also face threats from the impacts of climate change. Click here for full details. Comments by the Pew Environment Group on the IWC Chair`s Support Group Draft Consensus Decision to Improve the Conservation of Whales 30th March 2010 The Pew Environment Group welcomes the potential in the Support Group’s proposal for:
To fully secure the future for healthy whale populations across the oceans, it is imperative that all of the following elements are included in further deliberations on this matter, and in any final package for consideration:
The Pew Environment Group truly hopes that the IWC can reach an effective agreement in Agadir in June 2010 for whale conservation across the oceans. We urge the Drafting Group and the Support Group at their meetings in the month of April to secure the incorporation in the package of the aforementioned elements. Unless a solution can be adopted on this basis, we fear that current efforts to put the IWC and whales back on track would be wasted. For further information on the Pew Environment Group, please visit www.pewenvironment.org. Pew Statement by the Pew Environment Group to the IWC Small Working Group, St Petersburg, Florida “Thank you vey much for the opportunity to address the Commission today. I am speaking on behalf of the Pew Environment Group. We appreciate the hard work and efforts of the members of the Support Group, and recognize that there are some positive elements within the document, including:
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Pew Whales at the IWC 62, Agadir Follow the Pew Whale Conservation Project's participation at the 62nd Meeting of the IWC, June 2010. Pew Whales in the Press
Whales in the Media
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