Ban On Commercial Whaling Unlikely To Be Addressed At IWC Conference In Portugal

The 61st annual International Whaling Commission meeting got started yesterday in Madeira, Portugal, and, for the most part, it looks like it’s shaping up to be a great big waste of time and money.

The IWC has spent the last 12 months exploring compromises that would allow relaxed restrictions on commercial whale hunting. Neither pro-whaling nor anti-whaling nations are likely to find this deal acceptable, and no significant votes are expected to be taken during this conference. The best anyone seems to be hoping for is another 12 months of stalling and failed compromising. The worst case scenario is that more and more nations bail on the IWC entirely and decide to regulate their own whaling industries.

Basically, anti-whaling western nations (USA and EU), plus Australia, seem to have a political and cultural mandate to end entirely commercial whaling. It seems to be a matter of debate whether or not these countries could call a successful vote to place further restrictions on whaling. Some commentators don’t believe they have enough votes to get the three-quarters majority needed to enact major policy change. However, others, like Greenpeace, disagree and think that the time is now.

Japan leads the pro-whaling nations, seemingly by the sheer force of its political and economic influence in the Pacific - even in Australia.

During all this, Iceland caught its first whale of the season, but the CEO of the whaling company responsible said it was likely that the EU would do what the IWC could not. He believes that the EU will require Iceland to stop commercial whaling as a condition of membership.

And Paul Watson claims he was almost arrested on his way to the IWC meeting, but the warrant had expired.