International Whaling Commission 2011 – Make or break?

11/07/2011 09:06:44 Japan holds the key to IWC Jersey - By Pablo Lalor of the WDCS
July 2011. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting has come around again and will be meeting on the Channel Island of Jersey between the 11th and 14th of July. The meeting represents an important period on any marine conservationist's calendar and the commission's 63rd gathering will be followed with keen interest, particularly after last year's challenging talks.

2010 talks broke down
Negotiations to resume commercial whaling took place in 2010 and both sides were strongly represented, resulting in a complete breakdown of the talks. The moratorium was upheld but the negotiations impacts are still being felt. As a result, the commission is in somewhat of a ‘cooling off period' as delegates hold back to see how each opposing faction will respond.

Japan holds they key
There is no question that the Japanese delegation will be the group to watch. As the strongest party within the pro-whaling group, their decisions will have a key role to play in how the meeting in Jersey pans out. But after a tragic year in which earthquakes and tsunamis devastated coastal communities and resulted in one of, if not the worst, nuclear fallouts since Chernobyl, how strong a role can they play? Can Japan still afford to pay the fees and expenses of the many countries whose support it has bought? Even before those tragic events caused so much destruction, the Japanese government had already been reviewing the viability of its whaling operations. Could Japan even declare plans to cease whaling altogether in Jersey next week?

South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary
The answers to these questions will have important ramifications for the future of whaling worldwide. The result of a stop to whaling operations in Japan would have obvious affects, but the ceasing of alleged bribery activities would have just as significant an impact. Without those all important cash votes, Japan's support would diminish and pro-conservation countries may find themselves in a healthy majority. We could see the adoption of policy working towards Brazil and Argentina's proposals for a significant whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic, a move that would be fantastic victory in the ongoing efforts to conserve worldwide populations of cetaceans. Japanese actions, however, will be hard to predict and could easily sway either way this year.

Norway and Iceland
These are, of course, not the only issues of importance that will be discussed at the meeting. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) will push for the IWC to focus on the commercial hunts still occurring in Norway and Iceland, as well as indigenous subsistence hunting in Greenland and other parts of the world. Hundreds of whales and dolphins are still caught each year in both commercial and subsistence operations outside of Japan and WDCS is at the forefront of confronting these contradictions to the 1986 Whaling Moratorium. With the subsistence quotas up for renewal next year, WDCS will also be hoping to ensure that the IWC recognises the urgent reforms that are needed to bring this process up to date.

Marine debris
The Conservation Committee will also be meeting in Jersey where topics beyond that of whaling will be discussed in incorporated into IWC policy. A pressing issue that needs to be addressed is that of marine debris. Not enough is known of the true extent of the damage that marine debris causes to cetaceans in our oceans. We do, however, know that the reality is that a significant number of cetaceans are killed annually due to entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. Animals may also suffer longer term affects due to the toxicity substances. WDCS will be pushing for the Commission to take on the issue of marine debris amongst other pressing conservation issues such as by-catch and collision.

The politics surrounding Japanese actions this year, in addition to the fallout resulting from last year's meeting, could very well make this year's IWC meeting an eventful and historical meeting. On the other hand, the un-predictability of delegations could result in a tentative and indecisive operation. The unknown quantity of the meeting means it is certainly one to follow, so keep up to date with all the goings on as it takes place between the 11th and 14th of July. It could be one to remember.

Written by Pablo Lalor of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society