Newswise — Japan and Iceland have once again failed in their attempts to lift regulations protecting whales, as their proposals to the regulatory body responsible for international trade in endangered species were today resoundingly defeated.
If adopted, Japan and Iceland's proposals to the 2007 meeting of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) could have lead to the resumption of international commercial trade in whale products being permitted for the first time in over 20 years. WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society welcomed the decisions, highlighting that if adopted these proposals would have dealt a devastating blow to the commercial whaling ban. Japan's proposal for CITES to review the status of all great whale species was defeated with the interim result showing 28 votes for and 55 against with 13 abstentions. The official result will be available from CITES tomorrow. Japan had hoped that, following this review, CITES would recommend that the protection currently afforded to some whale species should be relaxed. Similarly Iceland had proposed that CITES review the protection currently afforded to the North Atlantic fin whale with a view to allowing international trade in the animals which it began hunting commercially last year. A counter proposal from Australia which stated that no review of any great whale, including the fin whale, should occur whilst the International Whaling Commission's commercial whaling ban was in place, was adopted 60 votes for and 23 against, again 13 countries abstained.
The decisions were made by a Committee within CITES and need to be ratified by all Parties at the end of the conference. WDCS's Niki Entrup attending the CITES meeting said. "We believe CITES has made the right decisions today, but they still need to be ratified by all Parties . Japan and Iceland have plenty of time to lobby to reopen debate and overturn this vote." Japan's failure today comes just a week after its plans to resume commercial whaling failed at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Currently, meat from Japan's so-called scientific whale hunts is sold to its small domestic market. By gaining approval for international sale of whale products it could significantly increase profits from its hunts. The rejection of Japan and Iceland's proposals is another significant signal from the international community that it opposes the commercial use of whales - whether hunting to sell meat for profit on domestic markets, or international trade in edible and other products. The IWC last week resoundingly endorsed its 21 year old ban on commercial whaling and sent a clear message to CITES that the trade ban should remain in place as well.
Niki Entrup concluded "We hope that these two votes signal that the tide is changing for Japan. It just isn't convincing people that whaling should resume. The world, rightly, wants to see whales protected." Ends
Notes to Editors
The 171 parties to CITES gathered for their 2 to 3 yearly meeting in the Hague, Netherlands on the 3rd June. The meeting's plenary, where all decisions made by committees need to be ratified, will conclude on the 15th June.
CITES has banned all international commercial trade in whale products for decades, in deference to the IWC banning commercial hunting on species decimated by over-exploitation.
Iceland, Norway and Japan all hold reservations to the trade ban, which exempt them from it, but they have not exploited these; preferring to submit proposals to CITES at its biennial meetings, seeking the formal lifting of the ban. Every attempt over the last 10 years has failed. The proposal to CITES this year is not a straight proposal to resume trade; it asks CITES' Animals Committee to conduct a review of the status of whales, hoping that this scientific body will conclude that they no longer need protection.
The IWC responded in a resolution adopted at its 59th meeting last week that the protection is still necessary and supported and noted that IWC, not CITES, is the internationally competent body to review whale stocks. The resolution warned that overturning the trade ban while whaling is still forbidden could be very damaging, and asked that its message be forwarded to CITES.Explanation of key terms
CITES lists animal and plant species on two appendices depending on the level of risk posed to them by international commercial trade. Species threatened with extinction by international trade are listed in appendix 1, which bans all international trade. Appendix 2 allows closely monitored international trade.. A third appendix allows individual governments to seek the cooperation of other governemnts in monitoring trade.
The term "uplisting" refers to moving a species or population to a greater level of protection, and "downlisting" refers to moving it to a lower appendix
Owing to a minor fault with the electronic system used to count votes, the results shown are expected to be confirmed by CITES tomorrow but are not expected to change the final outcome of the proposal being rejected.
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