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  PlanetSave 31 May 06
Australia warns South Pacific nations they risk world wrath on whaling
Written by AP

PlanetArk 31 May 06
 Australia Lobbies Pacific Nations Against Whaling
CANBERRA - Australia began a last-ditch attempt to lobby small Pacific Island nations to support whale conservation on Tuesday, warning that every vote at next month's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting would be crucial.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell is leading a delegation to Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu to lobby against any move by Japan to try to overturn a moratorium on commercial whaling at the IWC meeting in the Caribbean.

"This year's IWC vote is crunch time for the future survival of whales and every vote will be critical," Campbell said, adding that whale populations were beginning to recover in the southern hemisphere following the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.

Japan abandoned commercial whaling in 1986 but began hunting whales the following year for what it calls scientific research.

Critics say the whale meat ends up in Japanese restaurants. Australia is a staunch opponent of whaling and has led international diplomatic efforts to urge Japan to stop whaling in the South Pacific and Southern Ocean.

Campbell said Japan won majority support to resume commercial whaling at the last IWC meeting in South Korea in June 2005, but some countries did not turn up to vote, meaning Japan's proposal was lost.

Kiribati voted with Japan in 2005. Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands are not members of the IWC, but are reportedly considering signing up.

Campbell said an estimated 2 million whales were killed in the southern hemisphere between 1904 and 1986, but some whale populations were slowly recovering. "Sadly, however, that does not appear to be the case in the Pacific where humpback whale numbers remain low. To even take a few whales from these uncertain populations could jeopardise their recovery in the region," Campbell said in a statement.

Norway broke the whaling moratorium in 1993 and is currently the only nation to permit open commercial whaling.

Iceland, like Japan, conducts scientific whaling. These whaling states say whaling is a cherished part of their culture.

The IWC meets in St Kitts and Nevis from June 16 to 20.

PlanetSave 31 May 06
Australia warns South Pacific nations they risk world wrath on whaling
Written by AP

CANBERRA, Australia (AP): Australia's environment minister has warned tiny South Pacific nations they could be the focus of international outrage if they support a resumption of commercial whaling at an International Whaling Commission summit in June, a news agency reported Wednesday.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell gave the warning during a three-day tour of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Vanuata where he canvassed for support of Australia's anti-whaling stance.

Campbell said he told Marshall Islands leaders Wednesday that they should think carefully about the consequences of their vote if they oppose a 20-year-old moratorium on commercial whaling at the IWC meeting in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis on June 16-20.

``Should the vote go the way of the whalers, which would overturn what I regard as one of the great achievements of the last half of the last century ... this will raise the level of interest to levels I haven't seen since the 1970s,'' Campbell told reporters in the Marshall Islands, Australian Associated Press reported. ``The outrage that will surge up around the world if the vote goes the wrong way in St. Kitts will force a lot of public attention on those key votes,'' he said.

Campbell said he told this to the Marshall Islands ministers not in a threatening way but as an observation, AAP reported.

``I think there'll be a close look at countries like Guatemala, the Marshall Islands ... and Palau, who have a phenomenal conservation record internationally but take an out of character position when they vote at the whaling commission,'' he said.

Campbell's message came after he failed to persuade Kiribati's leaders to support his cause on Tuesday.

At the IWC annual conference in South Korea in June last year, Kiribati supported Japan's continuation of whaling for scientific research but abstained on the question of ending a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.

The Marshall Islands and Vanuatu--the last stop on Campbell's tour--are not IWC members but are reportedly considering signing up.

Japan, a leading advocate of a resumption of commercial whaling, sent delegates on a similar tour in recent weeks to garner support.

Japan warns that increasing whale numbers will reduce fish stocks.

Australia's lobbying mission comes after reports last week that pro-whaling forces look set to win a majority on the IWC when it meets in June.

While a simple majority would not be enough to overturn current whaling bans, anti-whaling forces have warned it could lead to policy changes that could undermine a protective regime.

Campbell has said the next IWC meeting is crunch time for the future of whales, which should be protected through a global moratorium on commercial whaling and from so-called scientific whaling.

Both Japan and Iceland take whales for scientific research then sell the carcasses commercially. Critics including Australia argue the scientific justification for whaling is a sham. Norway ignores the moratorium and openly conducts commercial whaling.
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