Breaking News from Blue Dolphin Alliance and its Affiliates

International Whaling Commission Report

by Paul Spong

We'd hoped it would be with a bang, but the 51st meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), in Grenada, wrapped up with a whimper. We'd hoped that some stalwart nation was going to make a clear statement condemning the Makah gray whale kill. We expected another clear statement condemning the Caribbean humpback killings. What we got was total silence on the Makah issue, and pious comments about the brutal killings of humpback mothers and babies that have been taking place as a "tradition" on the island of Bequia. We got expressions of hope that 77-year-old whaler Athneal Ollivierre would do it better next time, that St. Vincent would finally explain their "need" to kill whales. And we got stern warnings that vigilant eyes would be watching. The problem these days is that most IWC issues are thrashed out in back rooms where there are no observers to report on positions stated, deals made, or even body language.

There were positive aspects to the meeting. Japan being an unlikely source. It came on the afternoon of the second day when Japan proposed that television cameras be invited into the meeting in order to ensure total "transparency." This probably stems from Japan's conviction that it's cause is right, and that the world - once informed - will demand that the IWC allow commercial whaling to start up again. To us it seemed like an announcement of the End Game, one which whale advocates are more than happy to join. Let's conduct the debate with as much visibility as possible, we say, and let the world decide.

Another good news item deserves mention. Lurking in the wings is the threat that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will "downlist" minke whales from Appendix l to Appendix ll, thereby legitimizing trade between nations (e.g. Norway and Japan). Whalers ad Wise Users have been working on CITES for years, knowing that downlisting by CITES would place huge pressure on the IWC to reopen trade in whale meat. (See sidebar). Fortunately, the IWC sent a clear "hands off the minke" message to CITES, with a resolution that received a substantial majority. At the very least, pro-whale forces at the CITES meeting next April will have another tool they can use.

Whalemeat toxic?

This year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting considered, for the first time, shocking evidence of widespread contamination of whale meat on international markets. A study by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and the Swiss coalition form the Protection of Whales surveyed Japanese cetacean meat markets and found that 95 percent of meat from dolphins and porpoises tested at a Japanese lab contained at least one pollutant type at or above levels of concern established by national or international authorities and would jot be permitted for human consumption in most countries, including Japan. Several large whale species were also tested and shown to contain significant contaminant levels. Health authorities and independent researchers have also reported high levels of contaminants in whale meat and organs in Greenland, Canada and the Faroe Islands.

An important milestone was achieved this year when a resolution was passed establishing a regular IWC sub-agenda item on Health Effects, thereby institutionalizing the issue of health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated cetacean products. The resolution passed at this year is yet another strong rationale for redirecting the efforts of the IWC from setting kill quotas to concentrating on the very real issues facing the health and well-being of whales, dolphins, and ocean habitat.

- David Phillips

A somewhat encouraging development was the Commission's willingness to publicize Japan and its Caribbean allies walked out before a resolution on Dall's porpoises was voted on, as a way of reaffirming their position that the IWC has no right to deal with small cetacean issues. Nevertheless, there is now some pressure on Japan to reduce the thousands of Dall porpoises it slaughters annually. Unfortunately, the tragedy seems certain to continue. The porpoises' best hope lies in our exposing what's happening to the world, as the Environmental Investigation Agency and a few other organizations have been doing.

The morning after the meeting closed we woke to great news in the form a a banner headline on the front page of Grenada's weekly newspaper, the Grenadian Voice. "THE MINISTER LIED!" The story described Grenada IWC Commissioner Michael Baptiste's misrepresentation of IWC decisions and Japan's outlaw behavior. It also explained Grenada's role as a pawn of Japan at IWC meetings, along with Anugua Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, St Kitts & St Nevis, and the Solomon Islands. Though the story must have come as news to most Grenadians, and must certainly encourage the growing number of Caribbean NGOs who are working to counter their countries' embarrassing positions at the IWC, there may be little immediate fallout from the revelation. All of these nations are the recipients of substantial aid from Japan, and their votes reflect it.

This year's meeting also highlighted the danger inherent in the "aboriginal whaling" provisions of the Whaling Convention. The US has opened a can of worms with its sponsorship of Makah whaling. With native whalers in British Columbia poised to get in he act, the best hope is that the US will actively pursue negotiated settlement with the Makah now that tier treaty "right" has been acted out. Whether there's the will in Washington to follow this course is perhaps doubtful.

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