Watch Earth Matters
on CNN and
CNN International.
|
Whale-hunting compromise on agenda at meeting in Monaco
October 19, 1997
Web posted at: 10:19 p.m. EDT (0219 GMT)MONACO (CNN) -- An international committee on whaling this week will discuss a compromise over whale hunting in what is expected to be the group's most heated meeting in years.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC), meeting in Monaco, will consider a controversial proposal by the Irish government to restart commercial whaling in coastal waters in return for a global whale sanctuary. The compromise is designed to save some species from extinction.
Nations strongly opposed to whaling are expected to press for the current moratorium on commercial whaling to be replaced by a permanent ban. The opposition to whaling is expected to be led by Australia, the United States, Great Britain and New Zealand.
Japan and Norway are likely to call for an end to the 11-year-old moratorium. They are expected to argue that whale stocks, such as minke, have been replenished to a level that supports commercial whaling.
Whale hunting
918 K/22 sec. QuickTime movie
Environmentalists say the plan, which would allow Japan and Norway to catch minke whales in 200-mile-wide coastal water belts, is flawed because the vast majority of whales spend some time in coastal waters.
The IWC has no power of enforcement and must rely on consensus. Norway and Japan have not shared the consensus that led to the moratorium and have continued to pursue whale for profit and research purposes. The meat, oil and other products from the catch command a market.
A whaling report to the Australian government released in September rejected the argument that scientific evidence of a replenishment in whale stocks justified the lifting of the moratorium.
It said there were inaccuracies in the estimates of whale stocks and whale catches, warning of the understating of catches by Norway and Japan.
The report said between 15,000 and 18,000 whales had been killed legally since the 1986 moratorium, but that the illegal catch can never be known.
Whale meat is a delicacy in Japanese restaurants, and the animal has been caught for centuries by small Norwegian fishing communities.
Correspondent Neil Curry and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- International Whaling Commission
- Kendall Whaling Museum - twelve maritime galleries house an international collection of art, history, and ethnology celebrating the age-old human fascination with whales.
- Tirpitz Whaling - aiming to present objective and trustable information about issues relating to whaling in Norway and worldwide.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.