Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Australia continues to be a world leader in the international protection and conservation of whales and will continue to do so long into the future to ensure the survival of these magnificent mammals.
For over 26 years the Australian Government has pursued through the International Whaling Commission a permanent international ban on commercial whaling and worldwide protection for all cetaceans.
The Australian Government believes that this is the correct policy because:
Australia's opposition to whaling applies equally to commercial whaling and to so-called 'scientific' whaling, which is in practice thinly-veiled commercial whaling. Australia nonetheless recognises the needs of some subsistence cultures to continue traditional whaling methods and the use of whale products to meet demonstrated traditional, cultural and dietary needs.
Australia acknowledges its own whaling history. Opposition to whaling focuses on the practice of hunting whales and does not reflect on the people or culture of countries that hunt whales.
At the IWC annual meeting in June 2005, Australia successfully negotiated with other members of the IWC to oppose Japan's proposal which would have lifted the moratorium on commercial whaling and allowed for limited commercial whaling to occur. The Australian Government was successful in gaining support for Australia's resolution calling on Japan to withdraw its proposal for an increase in scientific whaling. The meeting also rejected Japan's proposals to remove all conservation issues from the IWC agenda and to have secret voting resolutions.
In a show of regional support, Australia, together with Spain and twelve Latin American and Southern Hemisphere countries, signed a declaration condemning so-called scientific whaling in November 2005. The six point declaration supports continuing the current moratorium on whaling, an end to special permit whaling for 'so-called' scientific purposes and for the limiting of scientific research to non-lethal means. The declaration demonstrates that other countries share Australia's views and are prepared to also take a strong stand on whale conservation. It also clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of Australia's continuing and unrelenting campaign of using diplomatic channels to build international support for our pro-conservation stance.
Australia will continue to work with other like-minded countries to explore all avenues to build support for whale conservation, with a focus on securing the long-term recovery of the heavily depleted global populations of whales.
The next IWC annual meeting will be held in St Kitts and Nevis in June 2006.
The International Whaling Commission was founded through the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in Washington D.C. U.S.A on 2 December 1946. The purpose of the Convention is 'to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry'. Over the decades, most member countries have abandoned whaling, but continued to view the IWC as the best forum to focus on the conservation of whales. Australia has been a driving force behind strong international whale conservation efforts in the IWC. More about the IWC
The Australian Government will vigorously defend and promote its policy of whale conservation at the 2006 International Whaling Commission meeting, to be held in St Kitts and Nevis in June.
During the last century, many of the world's whale species were hunted to the brink of extinction. Whilst whales have been hunted for over one thousand years, with the development of harpoon guns, explosive harpoons and motor-driven whaling boats, large-scale commercial whaling became more viable and as a result whale populations began to decline.
Whaling was Australia's first major primary industry. Numerous coastal whaling stations were established. In the 1970s as whale numbers dropped globally, whales in Australian waters also began to decline. Commercial whaling in Australia first ceased in 1978 when Australia's largest whaling company the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company in Western Australia closed down. Soon afterwards in 1979 the Government placed a ban on all commercial whaling in Australian waters.
The 25th Anniversary of Australia's anti-whaling policy was celebrated in 2004. It was in 1979 that Australia ended whaling in Australian waters and began work towards the international protection and conservation of whales. This decision was based on the outcomes of an Inquiry into Whaling in 1978. The inquiry recognised issues such as diminishing whale populations and the inhumane methods for killing whales as a firm basis for moving towards the protection of whale species.
Under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, the Australian Government adopted a policy in 1979 which actively opposed whaling both domestically and internationally. This marked the beginning of Australia's stand on the international stage against whaling. Under its new policy Australia was instrumental in the securing of the global moratorium on whaling a few years later.
The Australian Government is party to a number of multi-lateral agreements related to whales. These include: