The
following are a gist of salient results in debate at this meeting.
 |
Membership issue
of Iceland |
 Iceland
objected to the Chairman's ruling last year to allow it only the observer
status in response to its request for re-joining the IWC with reservation
to the commercial whaling moratorium. After the voting, Iceland's
full membership was denied with 20 in support and 25 against. Asserting
that the IWC has no such jurisdiction to decide on the matter, the
Icelandic delegation withdrew from the conference room from second
day on.
|
Japan's request
for a quota of 50 minke whales for coastal whaling |
Japan
made the presentation about small-type coastal whaling in Abashiri,
Ayukawa, Wadaura and Taiji-- coastal whaling communities traditionally
depending on whaling, and asked for a provisional quota of 50 minke
whales to alleviate the economic hardships of those communities. Although
a three-fourth majority was not obtained necessary for the amendment
of the IWC Schedule, the voting results approached a simple majority
by 20-21, with three abstensions.
| IWC
MEMBER COUNTRIES |
| Antigua
and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Benin, Brazil,
Chile, China, Costa Rica (No voting right, absent), Denmark,
Commonwealth of Dominica, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany,
Grenada, Guinnea,Iceland (observer), India, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia,
Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palau,
Panama, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal
(no voting right), Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States |
|
|
|
Aboriginal subsistence
whaling |
Aboriginal
subsistence quotas for hunting of gray whales by the United States
and Russia, take of fin whales and minke whales by Greenland and humpback
whales by Saint Vincent were approved by consensus as proposed. However,
the quota for bowhead whales by Innuits (U.S.) and Chukotka people
(Russia) failed to obtain necessary three-quarter votes on the ground
that calculation of this stock on the basis of the Revised Management
Procedure showed that quota for this stock should be zero for the
coming 30 years. While supporting the general scheme of aboriginal
subsistence whaling, Japan opposed to the 5-year block quota proposed
for this species by the U.S. and Russia and suggested setting a yearly
quota with subsequent annual review. Japan also criticised the double
standards of anti-whaling countries that denied Japan's coastal whaling
having similar characteristics to the subsistence whaling while giving
unconditional support for the quota for endangered bowhead whales.
Japan pointed out that in this respect the IWC lacks credibility,
respect and sincerity, showing its malfunctions as a resource management
organization.
|
Whale catch research
program |
a. JARPA
The IWC Scientific
Committee highly valued the
useful information provided by JARPA to the management
of whale resources, in spite of some negative
comments from anti-whaling members of the committee.
b. JARPNII
The IWC Scientific
Committee also highly commended
that the results of preliminary JARPNII programs
in the North western Pacific would contribute
to the clarification of interaction between cetaceans
and fishery resources in spite of negative comments
from some anti-whaling members of the committee.
There were adequate assessment and support for the
full-scale JARPNII that it would satisfy the IWC's
guidelines for scientific research. This year, no resolution
calling for restraint in Japan's whale research
catch program was adopted--the first time since 1987. |
