IWC meeting strengthens whaling moratorium

After a week of intense negotiations between those countries that want to see whales better protected worldwide and those pushing for the legalisation of commercial whaling, the 69th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which took place this week in Lima, Peru, is ending with mixed results.

OceanCare is relieved that the controversial draft resolutions from the pro-whaling countries of West and Central Africa (‘food security’) and Antigua and Barbuda (to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling) were withdrawn due to strong opposition.

However, a resolution proposed by the EU member states to strengthen the moratorium (‘International legal obligations in commercial whaling’) was overwhelmingly adopted. For the first time in 23 years, the IWC expressed concern about continued commercial whaling by Japan, Iceland and Norway.

Maximin Djondo, Aquatic Wild Life Conservation Expert for Western Africa at OceanCare and Executive Director of Benin Environment and Education Society (BEES NGO), commented on the outcomes:

“Genuine food security is too important to be used as a political football. We are relieved that the proposal by some West and Central African countries to falsely link ‘food security’ in West Africa to commercial whaling has failed. As over 100 scientists and experts from the region have publicly stated, there is neither a tradition nor a need for whaling in West and Central Africa. It is shameful that some African governments are allowing themselves to be used for Japan’s commercial whaling interests. We will continue our work to ensure that West African states do not continue to serve Japan’s whaling interests at the next IWC meeting.”

Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare, added:

“The overwhelming majority of governments in the IWC want to end commercial whaling and call on whaling nations to respect their international obligations. Iceland’s surprising abstention on the resolution expressing concern about the continuation of commercial whaling and on the vote to establish the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary is a very positive signal: change is afoot.

“On the other hand, the failure to establish a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic is a missed opportunity and therefore a great disappointment. A single vote could have made all the difference for dozens of whale species. For more than 20 years, South American members of the IWC have been trying to establish a much-needed whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic, but it has never been this close.

“Once again, pro-whaling nations from West Africa and the Caribbean – coordinated by Japan – blocked the necessary three-quarters majority. This is disappointing as such a sanctuary could be a landmark for whale conservation and would have formalised cooperation on whale conservation in this region between the two sides of the South Atlantic – South America and Africa.”

Overall, the destructive tactics of Japan’s allies to undermine the IWC’s wider conservation efforts (on issues such as plastic pollution, ship strikes, noise pollution and climate change) were unsuccessful.

Notes to editors

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established in 1946 by the Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). Its mandate, drafted within the context of that time, was the worldwide conservation of all whale stocks and the sustainable management of whaling. In 1982, the member states decided to ban commercial whaling activities worldwide. This global ban on commercial whaling, also known as the moratorium, came into force in 1986 and is still considered to be one of the greatest achievements in international animal and species conservation. It has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of whales to date.

OceanCare has held observer status at the IWC since 1992 and has also been represented through experts in the IWC’s Scientific Committee since 2015. OceanCare is dedicated to upholding the global moratorium on commercial whaling, which has been in force since 1986 and to encouraging the transformation of the IWC into a modern conservation body that addresses the full range of threats to all whale and dolphin species.

Publications

• OceanCare press release (20/09/2024): OceanCare will defend global efforts to protect whales at pivotal IWC meeting in Peru
• OceanCare press release (06/09/2024): Suggestion that the International Whaling Commission should be closed down is ill-informed nonsense
• NGO roadmap (2022): A 50 year vision for the IWC