Iwc

Looks are everything

Posted by Willie — 25 June 2009 at 1:55pm - Comments

The Great White shark: more threatened than threatening © CC  hermanusbackpackers

A couple of stories in the press today caught my eye. Both are about what we internally refer to as 'charismatic megafauna' (the big animals people tend to be interested in and care about), but they are also both damning indictments of our failure to protect our oceans and the life that depends on them.

Firstly – in the week of the International Whaling Commission meeting in Madeira, Portugal – whilst lots of countries get together to talk lots and try not to upset each other too much,  the BBC reports that a highly-endangered species of porpoise is being pushed ever closer to extinction.

Article tagged as: bycatch, IWC, oceans, porpoises, sharks, tuna

IWC 2009 - whale conservation bloc not playing its hand

Posted by jossc — 24 June 2009 at 2:02pm - Comments

Sara Holden, our International whales campaign coordinator, blogs from the 61st International Whaling Conference in Madeira, Portugal. Even though for the first time in years the anti-whaling nations have a decent majority on the IWC, genuine protection for whales still remains low on the agenda.

As metaphors go, how about this? The IWC meeting is being held in a casino - and anyone betting on a good outcome for the whales would be unlikely to win. Equally aprt, just a few minutes before the opening of the 61st International Whaling Commission meeting, a large rat was seen scuttling through the hotel and out the door. Not a bad illustration of what's going on here.

Article tagged as: cetaceans, iceland, IWC, japan, norway, oceans, whale sanctuaries, whales, whaling

Whaling? Not with our taxes!

Posted by jossc — 9 March 2009 at 4:13pm - Comments


Not With Our Taxes! from Greenpeace on Vimeo

Despite the worst recession in a generation, Japanese government officials arrived at the intersessional meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Rome this week still determined to defend a multi-billion yen whaling programme that is reviled by the international community and unwanted by taxpayers at home.

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, whaling

Dodgy deals on whaling?

Posted by Willie — 6 February 2009 at 5:24pm - Comments

Japanese whalers at work in the Southern Ocean Whale Sactuary

Japanese whalers at work in the Southern Ocean Whale Sactuary

There have been a number of confusing reports recently about whaling, so I thought it was only right to try and make sense of some of them for you.

Since the last International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Chile, there have been inter-sessional international meetings to try and agree a way forward for the IWC, and break the impasse of recent years. Conservationists fear that the truth is pro-whalers are not willing to compromise, and are seeking acceptance of commercial whaling, which is still conducted despite an international ban on the practice. To make matters worse, commercial whaling, under the guise of 'scientific research' is conducted by the Government of Japan in the Southern Ocean, a globally-recognised whale sanctuary, every year.

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, tokyo two, whaling

Whales: a little less conversation, a little more action?

Posted by Willie — 9 December 2008 at 4:10pm - Comments

Dead whale being transferred from bow to midships of whaling ship

While the IWC talks, the whalers are on their way back to the Southern Ocean © Greenpeace / Davison

This week, the International Whaling Commission is having an intersessional meeting in Cambridge to discuss its future. Whilst it's good news that these meetings are taking place (Greenpeace has been pushing for reform of the IWC into a body that works for the whales for many years), you have to ask yourself how much of this is just bluster.

At the same time as the international delegations are meeting, the Japanese whaling fleet is on its way to the Southern Ocean to kill whales for a bogus 'scientific' programme that is not endorsed by the IWC, and will take place in an area the IWC has designated a whale sanctuary. Despite measures to avoid confrontation at the last proper IWC meeting (which basically meant the pro-conservation countries not raising any issues that would be contentious with Japan and its allies), there has been no compromise from the whaling nations. Japan has not even officially reduced its own self-appointed quota.

Article tagged as: fin whale, iceland, IWC, japan, oceans, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, tokyo two, whaling

Video: Free the Tokyo Two

Posted by bex — 4 July 2008 at 11:49am - Comments

Our activist friends, Junichi and Toru, are still behind bars: 23 days without charge after exposing a whale meat smuggling scandal.

A huge thanks to all 200,000 plus of you who've written to Japan's prime minister to free them - let's keep up the pressure!

And keep an eye on the latest count, updated hourly:


Article tagged as: IWC, japan, japanese fisheries agency, oceans, videos, whaling

Free the Tokyo Two

Posted by jossc — 30 June 2008 at 2:18pm - Comments

Free the Tokyo 2 protest outside Japanese Embassy, London, 30.06.08

Update July 1 2008: 23 days in custody without charge for Greenpeace Japan activists

Greenpeace supporters gathered outside the Japanese Embassy in London this lunchtime. They held a peaceful protest to express solidarity with the two anti-whaling campaigners currently being held without trial in Japan for their role in exposing a large scale embezzlement scandal within the Japanese government-sponsored Southern Ocean whaling program.

Among the ranks was Greenpeace UK Director John Sauven, who handed in a letter to Ambassador Shin Ebihara asking him to make urgent representation to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for their immediate release, and to order a further investigation into the scandal exposed by Greenpeace.

Article tagged as: IWC, japan, japanese fisheries agency, whaling

World's whales and dolphins may face growing sonic threat

Posted by Willie — 12 June 2008 at 2:06pm - Comments

A dead dolphin - the victim of bycatch - lying on a beach

In Chile, the world's scientists are already meeting in advance of the 60th International Whaling Commission (IWC), which will be held there in late June. At this time of year, the eyes of the world turn to the deadlocked struggle between pro-conservation and pro-whaling countries as they clash over the future of whaling at the IWC meetings. And recent events have not been going well for the whalers - in recent weeks we have seen just how desperate the pro-whaling nations are to play down not only the recent scandal of stolen whale meat in Japan, but also the saga of exporting whale meat from Iceland and Norway. Both stories highlight the extent to which the whalers are routinely flouting not only international opinion but also the global ban on commercial whaling and the trading of whale meat.

Article tagged as: cetaceans, chile, cornwall, dolphins, iceland, IWC, japan, madagascar, norway, oceans, whales
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