The International Whaling Commission has rejected Japan’s bid to end the global moratorium on commercial whaling.
At this the 67th meeting of the IWC, Japan advanced a set of recommendations calculated to undermine the prohibition on commercial whaling agreed to in the 1980s. These included proposals to establish a Sustainable Whaling Committee and a process to determine catch limits for what Japan calls “abundant whale stocks/species.”
With no consensus on the proposal, Japan pushed for a vote on its package, which required a three-quarter majority to pass but only achieved 27 votes in support with 41 countries voting against and two abstentions.
Australia was the first country to rebut Japan’s proposals, describing commercial whaling as “a business proposition against which many parties hold legitimate environmental and welfare concerns.”
Countries including Iceland, Nicaragua, Senegal and Norway spoke in support of the proposal claiming that the IWC would be dysfunctional if it did not approve it.
Countries including Australia, Argentina and the IWC’s 24 European Union member states defended claims of dysfunctionality: “disagreement does not mean dysfunction” said Australia’s Commissioner, Nick Gales.
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