Call for International Whaling Commission to Stop Japan's Proposal

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Maritime Executive


BY MAREX 2018-08-28 19:23:05

Ahead of the September 4 International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Florianópolis, Brazil, the Environmental Investigation Agency and the Animal Welfare Institute have released a new report, Commercial Whaling: Unsustainable, Inhumane, Unnecessary, which highlights continued commercial whaling by Iceland, Japan and Norway and makes the case against any weakening of the moratorium on whaling.

Japan is proposing a package of measures at an IWC meeting next month that would effectively lift the global ban on for-profit whaling. The nation's so-called “IWC Reform Proposal” calls for the formation of a “Sustainable Whaling Committee” to set catch quotas, as well as the convening of a diplomatic conference to amend the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The change would lower the proportion of votes required to set catch quotas from three-quarters of the IWC membership to a simple majority.

“If Japan gets its way, it would be a massive victory for those rogue whalers who have time and again defied the international ban on commercial whaling and an absolute disaster for the world’s whales,” said Clare Perry, Environmental Investigation Agency’s Ocean Campaigns leader.

“According to our research, Japan and fellow commercial whaling countries Iceland and Norway have collectively killed at least 38,539 great whales since the 1986 ban was put in place. Many whale species have not yet recovered from massive over-hunting in the past, and they are also facing a wide array of mounting existential threats ranging from climate change to marine pollution by chemicals, plastics and noise.”

Read more: https://maritime-executive.com/article/call-for-international-whaling-commission-to-stop-japan-s-proposal#gs.oOrGdbE

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[Submariner]

1. The U.S. should be able to easily boycott Japan products, like all their cars and appliances,

and drive them to their knees, but not enough people pay attention to this travesty or even care in the first place.

I don't know if Iceland and Norway could be affected by a boycott, but not enough people care about the plight of cetaceans anyway to make a difference. Pathetically sad situation.

[Bayard]

2. Despicable

I've read the Japanese people aren't even eating much whale meat anymore, especially the younger ones. Its mostly going into dog food. Its certainly not going for research.

Too many people are so short-sighted. Intent on killing off other species, they can't see they are dooming themselves and the planet.