IWC
Posted by jossc — 24 May 2007 at 10:38am
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It's time for us whale lovers to hold our breath and cross our fingers yet again as we watch developments at the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission, now underway in Anchorage, Alaska.
For the past few years the IWC, charged by the United Nations with protecting whales, has been the focus of serious lobbying by some whaling nations to allow a resumption of commercial whaling - suspended since 1986 following a dramatic decline in the number of great whales worldwide.
Last edited 22 May 2007 at 4:53pm
What is the IWC?
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was set up in 1946 as a club for whaling nations. Its brief was to provide for an "orderly development of the whaling industry," because even in those days it was becoming clear that whales were being massively over-fished.
Last edited 25 January 2007 at 9:00am
The Greenpeace ship, Esperanza will sail from Auckland tomorrow, as part of a global campaign to bring an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
As well as the expedition, which will be the eighth one to the Southern Ocean, the campaign will focus on engaging with the 69 percent of people in Japan who do not support whaling (1) in the Sanctuary, by generating a global crew to campaign together through a new website http://whales.greenpeace.org.
Last edited 23 January 2007 at 9:00am
Endangered whales - hunted, stockpiled and left to rot on a rubbish dump
The Icelandic government's claims of sustainable whaling were harpooned this morning, after Greenpeace activists revealed that around 200 tonnes of meat and blubber from endangered fin whales are still in storage, waiting to be tested for chemical contamination and a further 179 tonnes of bones and entrails have been dumped in a landfill site.
Last edited 11 January 2007 at 5:23pm
A Greenpeace volunteer in front of an Icelandic whaler
Commercial whaling during the last century decimated most of the world's whale populations. Estimates suggest that between 1925, when the first whaling factory ship was introduced, and 1975, more than 1.5 million whales were killed in total.
Last edited 11 January 2007 at 2:35pm
Greenpeace blocking heavy metal pollution into the Irish Sea
Chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, industrial compounds (including PCBs) and other toxins pollute the oceans via a direct result of a range of human activities. Once released, pollutants accumulate in the marine food chain.
Last edited 8 November 2006 at 9:00am
One of the ironies of the fight to end commercial whaling is that over the past decade whale watching has shown the potential to become far more profitable than whaling ever was. It is already generating a staggering $1.25 billion per year globally.
Whale watching takes advantage of the fact that most whales are migratory, moving around the oceans at different times of the year to breed and feed. Much of this migration takes place in coastal waters, where large whale pods can often be clearly seen, either from small boats or from the shore.
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Last edited 18 June 2006 at 8:00am
St Kitts and Nevis - 16 June 2006: Campaigners today breathed a sigh of relief as pro-whaling nations led by Japan failed to gain a majority on the opening day of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) annual meeting, in St Kitts. Greenpeace announced their plans to return to the Southern Ocean this year to oppose Japan's continued 'scientific hunt' which will target 935 minke whales and ten endangered fin whales,warning that there is no time for complacency. (1)
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