Posted on July, 14 2011

Jersey, UK – Goodwill generated between member states at this year’s meeting of the International Whaling Convention has proven short lived. The 63rd annual IWC meeting has ended somewhat acrimoniously after member governments hit an impasse over the proposal of a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic.

The sanctuary, put forward by South American member countries, was vehemently opposed by pro-whaling governments, who walked out of the meeting when a vote was called.

Opposition to the sanctuary proposal dominated the bulk of the meeting’s final day causing important whale conservation issues to be dropped from the agenda. Whales and other cetaceans are at risk from numerous human-induced threats such as climate change, fisheries bycatch, oil and gas exploration and ship strikes.

“Acrimony is often the enemy of conservation – in this case it meant that a critical meeting on whales failed to address the greatest threats they face,” said Wendy Elliott, WWF’s Head of Delegation. “Several whale and dolphin species are in crisis – teetering on the brink of extinction. Conservation must be front and foremost at next year’s IWC meeting – for the sake of both the whales and the future of the Commission.”

The Commission agreed to allocate sufficient time at next year’s meeting to address the many environmental threats affecting whales. Members also decided to postpone discussions over the South Atlantic sanctuary until the 2012 meeting in Panama.

Among this year’s successes, IWC 63 adopted key reforms aimed at improving the body’s operations and creating greater transparency. Additionally, a workshop is being planned to explore ways the Commission can minimize threats to Arctic cetaceans coming from human activities such as oil extraction, shipping and undersea noise