- Title: VARIOUS: Japan defeated on whaling at the International Whaling Commission
- Date: 17th June 2006
- Summary: (BN02) FRIGATE BAY, ST. KITTS AND NEVIS (JUNE 16, 2006) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) NORWEGIAN WHALING COMMISSION AMBASSADOR KARSTEN KLEPSVIK SAYING: "We are not surprised. We did expect this outcome. But, we are very disappointed with the kind of arguments put forward by those being against secret votes." UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER TO INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION BILL HOGARTH SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER TO INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION BILL HOGARTH SAYING: "Bottom line, you want to save whales and we are not saving whales right now. The numbers are increasing - probably over 2,000 whales being taken. A lot of them under various disguises but it's basically commercial. " MORSHITA SPEAKING TO DELEGATES FROM OTHER NATIONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED KINGDOM MARINE AFFAIRS MINISTER BEN BRADSHAW SAYING: "Well, obviously I'm very pleased that again- in spite of predictions - Japan has failed to get a majority at the IWC particularly as this year really for the first time Japan herself seemed confident that she would do it." PAN OF CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE MIKE TOWNSLEY SAYING: "We are breathing a huge sigh of relief, this year. But, next year we are going to face the same ridiculous situation more countries brought in or bought in by Japan. And really the conservation governments have got to do more." PAN OF PARTICIPANTS AT CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 2nd July 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Country: Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Topics: International Relations,Environment,Industry
- Reuters ID: LVA4U8ELAPSIMFW8HS7PCJ27SZDW
- Story Text: Japan suffered a resounding defeat on Friday (June 16) at the International Whaling Commission, calming fears among conservationists that it might finally win enough support in the world body to start attacking a ban on whaling.
The commission voted against two proposals by Japan, one for secret ballots that it said would allow Caribbean and Pacific nations to back its pro-whaling stance without fear of reprisal, and another to prevent the IWC from discussing the fate of dolphins and porpoises as well as whales.
"It was disappointing. But, it's really not that different from the end of the last meeting. But, we continue to make progress. But for me, the voting, a one or two vote difference, is a minor matter because in the whole organisation there is something wrong. We cannot be just looking at the small issue of this vote or that vote voted down. We should look at the larger picture of normalisation of the organisation," said Japan's alternate commissioner Joji Morishita.
Anti-whaling countries led by Australia, Britain, New Zealand and South Africa, and environmental groups, breathed a sigh of relief that their darkest fears -- of a whaling body dominated by pro-whaling Japan -- had not come about.
"Well, obviously I'm very pleased that again- in spite of predictions - Japan has failed to get a majority at the IWC particularly as this year really for the first time Japan herself seemed confident that she would do it," said UK Marines Minister Ben Bradshaw.
Japan has sought for years to overturn the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling and had been expected to be closer than ever this year to securing a majority in the IWC.
While a majority alone would not be enough to end the ban, credited with saving the great whales from extinction, it would have allowed Japan to turn the IWC away from protection and back into an organisation that regulates whale hunting.
Environmental group Greenpeace said Friday's votes were "a victory for the whales, but no cause for complacency."
"We are breathing a huge sigh of relief, this year. But, next year we are going to face the same ridiculous situation more countries brought in or bought in by Japan. And really the conservation governments have got to do more," added Greenpeace International spokesman Mike Townsley.
Japan has abided by the moratorium on commercial whaling but uses a loophole that allows for scientific whaling. Its fleets brought back 850 minke whales from Antarctic waters last season and 10 fin whales, and it plans to hunt humpbacks.
Iceland also conducts scientific whaling while Norway, the only nation to defy the international ban, has set its hunters a quota this year of 1,052 minke whales, a small species whose meat is eaten as steaks.
The United States, regarded by both sides as a moderating voice, warned that other votes in the IWC meeting could still go Japan's way, and lamented that the acrimonious divide between pro- and anti-whaling countries had not been resolved.
"The bottom line is we got to save whales and we're not saving whales right now," Bill Hogarth, director of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, told Reuters, referring to the whales caught under science programs.
Japan and other whaling nations like Norway and Iceland almost got a simple majority at the annual IWC meeting a year ago in South Korea, but some allies failed to pay their dues and could not vote and others did not turn up.
Anti-whaling countries argue that whale-watching is more lucrative than killing them, and that the majestic creatures still need protection.
But Japan and its allies say some species of whales have recovered, and can be hunted in a sustainable manner. The say science should decide, not emotion. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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