March 11, 2010
Byron Shire Echo – Ph 02 6684 1777
Byron Shire Echo June , ArticlesSue Arnold reports from the IWC meeting in Ulsan, South KoreaA tragedy for whales and for humanityIseals are so young when they give birth that theyre unable to adequately feed their pups who die of starvation. The meeting was told in great detail how much and what species of sh Antarctic whales eat, highlighting the greedy whales with figures such as one slide which indicated that three baleen whales could consume over eight million tons of sh. Whether this was in a lifetime or over one year was never explained. Japanese scientists patiently explained how they needed to bring the Antarctic ecosystem back to a normal state with their l8 year experiment to manipulate the ecosystem. JARPA is an insult to any pretence of science. The l8 year program has been reviewed by the Institute of Cetacean Studies in Japan, otherwise it has undergone no ethical review process. JARPA has been widely condemned by the IWC Scientific n indication of the seri- Committee and a majority ous ramifications of of IWC member nations. All to no avail. this program came out during the week when Japan gave a power point presennother resolution introtation of aspects of JARPA duced by Japan again , their next year sci- attempted to bring in entific whaling program. coastal whaling in their One Japanese scientist exclusive economic zone. detailed how the reproduc- The IWC Commissioner tive age of Antarctic minke demanded a quota of whales had dropped from minke whales and l6 years down to seven Brydes, claiming that vilyears of age. According to lages like Taiji had strong the Japanese scientist, this cultural needs to kill whales dramatic drop in a decade going back years. indicated how rapidly the Taiji is one of the sites of minkes were breeding. It the infamous Japanese dolwas their Commissioner phin drives. More than last year who described , dolphins and porminkes as the cockroaches poises have been slaughof the sea. In fact this tered in the most cruel and drastic drop is a major indi- brutal fashion in these cation of a species in deep drives over the last years. trouble. Each year the Japanese Harp seals, in response government gives a quota to the massive cull of the of , dolphins and last years, now come into porpoises. oestrus at around the age of Yet not one word was spotwo, another dramatic ken by any delegate on this reduction in the start of inf amous, hor rendous reproduction. Many of the slaughter.n the ten years Ive been coming to IWC Convention meetings, this Ulsan meeting takes the cake as the most infamous. If this was a Star Wars movie, the audience might say the dark forces have won, at least for the time being. Nothing has changed save that Japan has granted itself a de facto commercial quota, Norway and Iceland will continue their own slaughters under another loophole. Australia and New Zealand have been big on rhetoric, driving the votes condemning Japans actions, leading the anti whaling nations in the battle to stop Japan taking over the IWC. But there is no victory. Scientic whaling will go ahead, many of the coastal states which are poor and undeveloped countr ies could follow the precedent set by Japan and grant themselves scientific permits. Or invite Japan to whale in their waters by taking the same loophole Norway and Iceland have used. What is abundantly clear is that fact that the IWC Convention has become completely unworkable. While New Zealand is attempting to get ministerial talks at the highest level in place after the IWC meeting to discuss the impasse, any solution to this morass of legal and diplomatic problems is not obvious. In spite of all the condemnation and Australias resolution, no action has been taken to stop Japanese scientic whaling.ACartoon by Howie CookeAfter losing the resolution condemning its scientic whaling program, the Japanese IWC Commissioner told an informal press scrum that the IWC meeting and the condemnation had not damaged Japans relationship with Australia, New Zealand or the USA. He indicated that Japan had a simple majority and the fact that three nations who would have supported Japan had not arrived at the meeting was an indication of their economic poverty. We are at a turning point, he said. A completely correct summing up of the meeting.TAAhe last major vote on Friday when the meeting wrapped up is on another resolution led by Sweden, Denmark and Finland with a number of other countries who are mushies fence sitters to recommence negotiations on the Revised Management Scheme. As many delegates are desperate for a compromise, this resolution has caused bitter division and has been the topic of discussion in many late night private delegation meetings. The resolution would ignore the scientic whaling permits and go back to a situation where there is no compliance for any commercial whaling program. Its a little like the movie Groundhog Day where the same old story was told again, day after day. Attending the IWC meetings costs governments and non government organisations a small fortune, it is a colossal waste of money which could be used more effectively to save whales and protect the ocean environment. One leading American activist told me that a deal might be struck at a future Ministerial meeting which gave Japan its coastal whaling quota in return for an end to scientific whaling. In the opinion of seasoned IWC activists this option will never y.Depending on the ferocity of Japans response to this IWC meeting, we may see attempts by Japanese puppet nations to take exceptions to the Convention and go whaling. Almost every third world country supported Japan, reiterating over and over again their right under the Law of the Sea to use the marine resources of their exclusive economic zones. The IWC Commissioner from the Solomon Islands repeatedly supported Japan in spite of that governments assurances to the Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell that it would not. A New Zealand delegate told me that pre Campbells visit Japan was giving 6.7 million in aid. After Senator Campbells visit, Japanese aid went up to million.ustralia and New Zealand delegations were strong and outspoken in their defence of whales. But Japans scientic slaughter will soon begin and none of the rhetoric or resolutions will change this situation. The federal government needs to be put under immense public pressure to take Japan to the International Court of Justice. My group, Australians for Animals, lobbied many member nations on this issue and we will shortly obtain legal advice from a well respected international lawyer skilled in these complex issues. A boycott of Japan is also on the cards but this action needs to be well organised and focussed. Unless international legal action is taken and public pressure is maintained, the remaining whale specieshave never been at greater risk. Japans whaling program in the Antarctic has the potential to cause the localised extinction of all three species which are the focus of JARPA . The IWC meeting in Ulsan can only be described as a tragedy for whales and a tragedy for humanity. There will be whale info night with Sue Arnold this coming Thursday at 7pm at the Lord Byron Resort, Jonson Street, Byron Bay. She will give a first hand report of the events at the IWC meeting. Dean Jefferys and Howie Cooke from the Whale Action Group will also give a presentation. Entry by donation. For recent IWC reports, lobby information and photos see au.HELPGENERAL