Spyhopper, 1998 - no. 2

The 1998 Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was held May 16-20 in the Sultanate of Oman. As temperatures outside topped the 115-degree mark, equally hot conditions raged inside the Al Bustan Palace Hotel as whalers and conservationists faced off.

Tensions had been building for several months prior to this year's meeting. In early 1998, Norway announced plans to increase its self-set whaling quota to 621 minke whales, up from 580 in 1997. In addition, press reports throughout the Spring indicated that Japan, South Korea, China and Russia were considering forming their own "North Pacific Whaling Commission" as a means of sidestepping IWC management decisions. Although Japan denied the reports, claiming a mistranslation of a press release from their Fisheries Ministry, the specter of yet one more Japanese attempt to sink the IWC loomed large at the meeting.

The Irish proposal for a resumption of limited coastal whaling, which prior to the IWC meeting was circulated by IWC Chairman Michael Canny of Ireland, continued to dominate the work of the Commission - not so much in the actual proceedings of the IWC as in the discussions in hallways and back rooms.

While floor debate on the proposal was limited to just a short time on the final day of the meeting, it is clear Canny's proposal will remain on the IWC agenda.

Many governments rejected Canny's proposal outright, including Australia and New Zealand. However, several governments seem willing to engage in discussions that would lead to the resumption of commercial whaling. Sweden and Germany in particular are strong supporters of the Canny compromise, in spite of vocal public opposition to whaling in both countries.

It is important to note that at the 1998 IWC meeting the U.S. government resumed its role as a leader in whale conservation. ACS Executive Committee member Nancy Azzam once again served as the environmental point person on the U.S. delegation. Freed this year from the burden of trying to justify a Makah whaling quota to the IWC, the U.S. delegation showed exceptional strength and foresight.

Recognizing the need to redefine the work of the IWC to make it more relevant to whale conservation, the U.S. promoted a resolution on "Environmental Changes and Cetaceans." Co-sponsored by 18 governments in addition to the U.S., the resolution establishes "environmental concerns" as a regular IWC meeting agenda item. The significance of pollutants and chemical contaminants on cetaceans, as well as baleen whale habitat studies related to climate change have in recent years come under the scrutiny of the IWC Scientific Committee. The new resolution authorizes the Scientific Committee to broaden its investigations into the above-mentioned environmental threats to whales, and includes two new priorities: physical and biological habitat degradation, and Arctic environmental issues.

The U.S. also strongly pushed a resolution to define the relationship between the IWC and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). This is in response to the strategy of some countries, most notably Japan, to "convention shop" - when a decision in one treaty organization goes against Japan, it tries to find another international forum in which to get approbation of its proposals.

In Summer 1997, both Japan and Norway attempted to have several stocks of whales "downlisted" from CITES' Appendix I to Appendix II, which would have opened the door to international trade in whale products, in spite of the continuing IWC moratorium. Historically, CITES has deferred all management decisions regarding whales to the IWC. This attempt to change CITES policy and to give CITES management authority over whales was overwhelmingly defeated at the 1997 CITES meeting.

In the "Resolution on Cooperation Between the IWC and CITES," the organization was thanked for its continuing recognition and support of IWC management decisions. In addition, the resolution called on all IWC member nations to provide information on whale meat stockpiles and incidents of illegal trade in whale products. (The latter is especially crucial given that studies underwritten by the International Fund for Animal Welfare indicated the presence of endangered humpback, fin and sei whale meat for sale in Japanese fish markets.) The resolution passed with strong support, 23 to 8, with three abstentions, a clear signal that the world community is not open to any resumption of international trade in whale meat or products.

Scientific whaling has long been the bane of the IWC. Allowed under Article VIII of the Whaling Convention, scientific whaling has been abused by the Japanese as a means of maintaining a commercial hunt of whales. Japan's annual minke whale "research" hunt accounts for the deaths some 500 animals a year in both the North Pacific and within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. According to Japan, projected income from the sale of whale meat from the Antarctic hunt alone amounted to 3.5 billion yen in 1996-97.

At this year's IWC, an extremely strong resolution was passed condemning the Japanese research hunts. The "Resolution on Whaling Under Special Permit" raised for the first time in an IWC forum the issue of ethics in regards to these proposed whale hunts. It expressed "grave concerns" over the continuation of lethal whale research programs, stating that moral and ethical issues are properly raised when a single research program results in over 2,500 cetaceans being killed over eight years, and the research hunts provide whale meat and other whale products for sale in commercial markets during a moratorium on commercial whaling. The resolution passed by a vote of 17 to 9, with eight abstentions.

SELECTED EXCERPTS     CONSERVATION VS WHALING AT IWC MEETING U.S. AGAIN SEEN AS WHALE CONSERVATION ALLY IWC/CITES COOPERATION HIGHLIGHTED SCIENTIFIC WHALING CONDEMNED IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES RESOLUTION FAILS DUPLICITY REVEALED ON UNDERREPORTED KILLS REGIONS DIFFER IN SUPPORT OF CONSERVATION     PROPOSED SALTWORKS     J.J.

One of the true disappointments of the IWC meeting was the failure to pass a resolution limiting the Scientific Committee's work on "implementation trials" for certain whale stocks. Implementation trials are used by the Committee to simulate the effects of whaling on whale stocks under a Revised Management Procedure, and to help set stock boundaries and quotas. Implementation trials are the first step towards whaling.

When the IWC Scientific Committee ran implementation trials on North Atlantic minke whales in 1993, the Norwegian government took that information and unilaterally established its own catch quotas. Fearing that Norway's example would be followed by Japan, a resolution was circulated in hopes of instructing the Scientific Committee to NOT continue such trials for either North Pacific Bryde's whales or Southern Hemisphere minke whales. Unfortunately, the resolution, "On Implementation Trials of the Revised Management Procedure," failed, 14 to 17, with three abstentions. Many votes against the proposal came as a shock; they included Spain, Mexico, Sweden, and Ireland, all members of the so-called "like-minded" group of conservation countries at the IWC. There was speculation that the vote failed because governments willing to engage in dialogue on the Irish proposal for limited commercial whaling did not want to anger Japan, in particular, as a compromise is sought.

The IWC yet again grappled with the fact that whaling nations had deliberately lied about the levels of kills of whales taken in past years. In 1995, the Commission learned Soviet whalers had earlier underreported catches of various species of whales - including right whales and blue whales in the South Atlantic - by several thousands in the 1960s and 1970s. New information came to light at this year's Scientific Committee meeting regarding further instances of abuse. Specifically, evidence was presented that both Japan and the then-Soviet Union lied about kill figures for their North Pacific whaling activities from 1949-1971. The Soviets went so far as to maintain "double books," one set a legitimate count of whales taken and the other a falsified record presented to the IWC.

One of the highlights of the meeting was the incredibly strong showing of South American governments as true whale conservationists. When the IWC moratorium was passed in 1986, both Brazil and Chile still had whaling operations. Yet now, some 16 years later, they are among the strongest voices for anti-whaling policies. Argentina, Brazil and Chile all have thriving whalewatching industries, and in 1997 Chile sponsored a series of workshops on whalewatching. The delegation from Brazil, under the agenda item "Future of the IWC" raised the issue of the possible creation of a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary. Brazil plans to communicate directly with coastal states that would be affected by such a Sanctuary, and will bring to the 1999 IWC meeting a fully-developed action plan for creation of this area. South Atlantic waters are home to such endangered species as the Southern right whale and the humpback whale. A Sanctuary there would be a positive tool for whale conservation.

In contrast to the South American member governments, the Caribbean lobby was vocal in support of Japanese whaling. The nations of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua, and Barbuda made consistently long interventions and launched various attacks at conservation groups in attendance. The lobby even tried to get environmental advocate groups thrown out of the meeting. While such theatrics did much to stall some proceedings, they did not accurately reflect the conservation ethic that has become so strong in the wider Caribbean region.

At the meeting, Japan and the Caribbean nations attempted to get all substantive decisions taken by secret ballot. Fortunately, this effort failed dramatically. It does, however, underscore increased Japanese efforts against an open and democratic process at international conventions. (At the 1997 CITES meeting Japan demanded that all of its proposals be voted on by secret ballot.)

On the whole, the 50th IWC meeting went very well for parties concerned with whale conservation. Despite the loss on the implementation trials issue, the conservation agenda moved forward and many positive steps were taken to ensure a healthy future for whales. The IWC's increasing emphasis on environmental concerns, coupled with the strongest attacks yet on scientific whaling and the Commission's reiteration of opposition to international trade in whale products bode well for a future without commercial whaling.

Kate O'Connell has represented ACS at the IWC Annual Meeting for the past four years. She works for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and has worked with other groups including Cetacean Society International and the Humane Society of the United States. Our thanks to Kate for representing ACS again.

For several years the conservation community has been hearing about the proposed saltworks in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

The area is familiar to many ACS members as the site of ACS-sponsored whale trips, where "friendly" gray whales approach people and boats on a regular basis. Laguna San Ignacio is part of the Vizcaino Desert Reserve and is the smallest and shallowest of the primary breeding lagoons along the Baja coastline.

The potentially habitat-threatening project is being planned by Exportadora de Sal, a company partnership between the Mexican government and Mitsubishi International Corp. The government and the company are already partners in the saltworks at Laguna Guerrero Negro, 90 miles north of San Ignacio.

Because of this existing profitable relationship, and considering the dismal state of the Mexican economy, the Mexican political process is critical to the saltworks proposal's success or failure. ACS National has sent the following letter to the President of Mexico and other officials influential in this matter. Members are urged to send their own letters to the officials listed below to voice their opposition to this project.

CALIFORNIA - J.J. the gray whale was released in March to the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, after more than a year being raised in captivity.

Rescued from the shallow surf off Marina del Rey in January 1997, J.J. was a disoriented, dehydrated newborn with her umbilical cord still attached. It was presumed she had been abandoned by her mother.

Transported to Sea World San Diego, J.J. thrived during her preparation for return to the ocean. During her captivity she grew from a 1,670-pound, 13-foot, 10-inch-long calf to an 18,000-pound, 32-foot-long juvenile.

J.J.'s presence provided scientists with a rare opportunity for up-close study of the growth patterns, auditory senses, and vocalizations of gray whales.

In March, J.J. was hoisted off the deck of a Coast Guard cutter, to - her keepers hoped - join the northbound gray whale migration. She was outfitted with two transmitters to help track her movements.

Observations immediately after the release indicated J.J. seemed to be adapting well to her environment, navigating choppy water and avoiding boats, kayaks, and other hazards she never encountered in her Sea World environment.

However, J.J. dislodged both transmitters within 15 miles of the release point. The only remaining way to track the whale is by a color-coded tag implanted near her blowhole, which can be viewed through a telephoto lens.

Scientists were disappointed the transmitters were dislodged, but were optimistic about J.J.'s continued survival. Challenges ahead for J.J. include dodging predators and avoiding fishing nets.

As of September 19, 1998, there were no official sightings of J.J. the Gray Whale since shortly after her release.