Whale and Dolphin Conservation
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At the 60th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Australia received strong support for its proposals to modernise the IWC and chart a new course in whale conservation:
Internationally agreed conservation management plans to improve protection for whales, address the range of modern threats to their recovery from historical whaling, and set conservation targets for healthy whale populations.
Regional, non lethal whale research partnerships for better whale science, beginning in the Southern Ocean.
Australia and Chile also agreed to work together on other whale research and conservation activities, including:
Australia has committed to collaborate with about 26 other IWC members in a Small Working Group that will canvass all the important issues relevant to the future role of the IWC. These issues include Australia's proposals for conservation management plans, whale sanctuaries, an end to 'scientific' whaling and promoting non-lethal uses of whales such as whale watching. The group will report to a special IWC meeting early next year. The first meeting of the Small Working Group will be held in Florida, USA 15 - 19 September. In the lead up to this meeting the IWC Secretariat requested members of the Small Working Group to submit comments on key issues to be discussed.
There was no consensus on the current population size of Antarctic minke whales, which have been taken for more than 18 years under the controversial 'scientific' whaling program in the Southern Ocean. In light of this scientific uncertainty, Australia called for increased collaborative and non-lethal whale research, through a Southern Ocean whale research partnership.
The status of other priority whale populations such as North Pacific minke whales, Southern Hemisphere humpback whales, blue whales and other small populations (gray, bowhead and right whales) were also reviewed at the meeting. Southern Hemisphere blue whales, which were subjected to intensive historic whaling, were found to remain at less than 1 per cent of their initial numbers at the most recent count.
Denmark's proposal to allow an additional take of West Greenland humpback whales did not receive the necessary ¾ majority. Australia joined other countries in voting against the proposal because the need of the communities to take humpback whales was not adequately justified in accordance with IWC rules on this form of whaling.
The IWC Scientific Committee agreed a new procedure for reviewing new and existing scientific permits. Sixteen parties, including Australia, spoke out against lethal scientific research. Australia reiterated its strong opposition to 'scientific' whaling and called on Japan to suspend its program, because this program:
The issue of whale sanctuaries is on the agenda for the 'Future of the IWC' working group. Fifteen parties, including Australia, spoke in favour of the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary.
The meeting agreed to hold a workshop on welfare issues associated with entrapped/entangled cetaceans following IWC61 in 2009.
Australia welcomed the improved level of reporting on the whaling operations of some countries, and called for all whaling countries to submit animal welfare data to the IWC, to enable the world to scrutinise the effects of whaling thoroughly.
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