Six Fundamental Elements for the Proposed IWC Consensus Decision
Posted on May, 15 2010
NGO statement from WWF, Greenpeace and the PEW Environment Group in response to the International Whaling Commission chair and vice-chair's (IWC) proposed consensus decision to improve the conservation of whales.
The IWC suggested its version of a compromise but we do not support this compromise unless it is revised to include the following six points:- End all whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
- If any whaling is authorized the whale products must be for domestic consumption only.
- Any agreed catch limits for whales must be calculated by the IWC Scientific Committee using the published version of the Revised Management Procedure (RMP), which is specifically designed to safeguard whale populations while providing for some sustainable use as long as the species being considered is determined to have a healthy population.
- No whales should be killed that are either a threatened species or in a threatened population.
- End all so-called scientific whaling.
- If this deal goes through then governments should not be allowed to lodge any reservations and attempt to operate outside of the IWC.