Commercial whaling

Commercial whaling

 News:

Japan has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial whaling in 2019

Important Facts:

• Japan has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, which it’s been a part of since 1951, to resume commercial whaling in 2019. However, it will continue to participate in talks as an observer.
• The withdrawal will take effect at the end of June, with commercial whaling to resume in July “in line with Japan’s basic policy of promoting sustainable use of aquatic living resources based on scientific evidence
• After the withdrawal comes into effect the Japan will conduct commercial whaling within Japan’s territorial sea and its exclusive economic zone.
• Exit from IWC doesn’t mean Japan will be operating outside the law, as such, and the country will still conduct its hunts in accordance with international laws and limits calculated by the IWC.
• Japan has justified its annual Antarctic whale hunt in the name of scientific research, which it says is necessary to evaluate global populations of whale species.
• However, that argument was rejected in 2014 by the International Court of Justice, which ruled that Japan’s Antarctic hunt had no scientific basis.
• The announcement drew criticisms: Australia said it was “extremely disappointed” and New Zealand said it regretted the resumption of the “outdated and unnecessary” commercial killing of the ocean mammals.

Consequences and Impact:

• By leaving the IWC, Japan is rejecting multilateralism and setting a very bad precedent for conservation, which will likely have very serious negative consequences for the world’s whales
• Japan may recruit other pro-whaling nations to leave the IWC.
• Conservationists argue that whale stocks have not recovered sufficiently from past overhunting and are hard to assess, easy to deplete and slow to rebuild.
• Marine mammals also face mounting existential threats from climate change and marine pollution, including plastics, chemicals and noise.

Additional Facts:

The International Whaling Commission – decision-making body for International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW)

• The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established as its decision-making body, originally with 15 member states.
• The IWC meets annually and adopts regulations on catch limits, whaling methods and protected areas, on the basis of a three-quarters majority vote.
• In recent years the IWC, recognizing new threats to whales, has moved towards a broader conservation agenda which includes incidental catches in fishing gear and concerns related to global environmental change.
• The IWC also regulates aboriginal subsistence whaling (for purposes of local aboriginal consumption, carried out by or on behalf of aboriginals, indigenous or native peoples)
• The Commission is comprised of 88 member governments including whaling countries, ex-whaling countries, and countries that have never had whaling industries but joined either to have a voice in the conservation of whales or to support whaling interests.