Whale tail
Greenpeace is opposed to all commercial whaling. We see no need for it, its history shows that it always leads to depletion of whale populations and there are a number of very real threats to whales, due to changes in ocean environment, whose long term dangers are becoming clearer and clearer as more information is accumulated.
At present the IWC is speeding up its work on developing the Revised Management Scheme or RMS and held a special intersessional meeting to make progress on the RMS in February, 2001 in Monaco. The RMS is the set of rules (including those that cover inspection and observation) that would be used if the IWC agreed to allow commercial whaling again and its completion and adoption into the IWC Schedule are required before the IWC could lift the moratorium.
We believe is it unnecessary and unwise to embark on development of a scheme whose only purpose is to allow for a resumption of commercial whaling, which brings no conservation benefits to whales and does nothing to assist the recovery of whale populations which were depleted by commercial whaling (some of it conducted under the auspices of the IWC) and remain depleted. For these reasons we strongly oppose the completion and adoption of the RMS and its incorporation into the Schedule.
