moratorium

Iceland's attempt to resume commercial whaling fails

Last edited 23 July 2001 at 8:00am
23 July, 2001

Iceland's attempt to resume commercial whaling immediately were rejected by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in London today.

Iceland wanted to rejoin the Commission with a reservation to the current international moratorium on commercial whaling. Iceland, which quit the IWC in 1992, announced today that it wanted the moratorium on commercial whaling overturned as quickly as possible so whaling can resume.

Today, after a series of votes, the IWC concluded that Iceland will only have observer status during this week's meeting and will not be allowed to vote on key issues, such as the possible resumption of commercial whaling or the establishment of a new whale sanctuary in the South Pacific.

Article tagged as: iceland, IWC, moratorium, oceans, press releases, whaling

The International Whaling Commission (IWC)

Last edited 23 July 2001 at 8:00am
the world is watching - IWC 53The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established in 1946 to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks" and "thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry." By that time, the whaling industry had already severely depleted many of the world's great whale populations. Gray, Bowhead and Right whales were already considered commercially extinct. Yet it was not until 1982 that members of the IWC voted to adopt a moratorium on commercial whaling that would take effect in 1986.
Article tagged as: IWC, moratorium, oceans, revised management scheme, whaling

Japan admits buying whaling votes in exchange for aid

Last edited 19 July 2001 at 8:00am
19 July, 2001

Greenpeace today expressed no surprise at the admission by a senior official of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, Maseyuku Komatsu, that Japan has been using overseas aid to secure support for its campaign to have the current international ban on whaling lifted.

The admission comes just a week before the start of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) conference in London (1). IWC countries already recruited by Japan through vote buying include six East Caribbean states, (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis), and Guinea. Panama and Morocco have joined the IWC this year and are also expected to vote alongside Japan.

Article tagged as: antigua and barbadua, IWC, japan, maseyuku komatsu, moratorium, oceans, press releases, vote buying, whaling

Special IWC meeting to consider resumption of commercial whaling

Last edited 6 February 2001 at 9:00am
6 February, 2001

A special Intersessional meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) opens today in Monaco to "make further progress" on a Scheme that, if agreed, will take the world significantly closer to the resumption of large-scale commercial whaling.


The Revised Management Scheme (RMS) aims to establish a set of rules (including those covering inspection and observation) that would be used if the IWC agreed to allow countries to hunt whales for commercial purposes again. In the past, commercial whaling brought many whale populations to the brink of extinction - a fact which led the IWC to agree to an international moratorium on all commercial whaling, which has been in effect since 1986.

Article tagged as: IWC, moratorium, oceans, press releases, protests, revised management scheme, whaling