Japan sparked outrage in December when it decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, saying it would return to commercial whaling as part of its cultural heritage.
Its population has roughly doubled globally since the 1970s in the wake of international bans on commercial whaling in the north Pacific and the southern hemisphere since 1976 and reductions in catches in the north Atlantic since 1990, the IUCN said.
Labor welcomes today's affirmation from the Government of Australia's strong support for the 30-year global moratorium on commercial whaling, and the Foreign Minister's pledge to vehemently oppose any attempts to undermine the processes that support it.
Despite its name, the‘Way Forward' proposal seeks to take the IWC back to its history of commercial whaling and would perpetuate the current divides within the IWC.
Under a loophole in the 1986 International Whaling Commission(IWC) ban against commercial whaling, Japan has continued to kill hundreds of whales every year for scientific research.
As shown in the figure, the number of whales in total is decreasing, while the number of minke whales seems to be increasing, following the total ban on commercial whaling.
Article VIII begins with the words"Notwithstanding anything in this Convention…", meaning that neither the moratorium on commercial whaling nor the sanctuary in the Antarctic Ocean applies to research whaling..
Throughout the past decade, while pro- and anti-whaling nations debated and deliberated at the IWC, private activists have organized a range of protests against commercial whaling.
It adds that it is“critical” the protection of the international whaling ban remains and that some whale species, almost exterminated due to commercial whaling, are slowly recovering.
The 1982 International Whaling Commission's moratorium on commercial whaling has been problematic from an international relations standpoint, leading to international disputes between Japan and Australia, with Australia arguing that Japanese programs are not true science.
With respect the moratorium on commercial whaling(which was intended as a temporary measure to provide time for the collection and analysis of further scientific data) it is important to note that Article VIII begins with the words"Notwithstanding anything in this Convention…" meaning that the moratorium on commercial whaling does not apply to research whaling..
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