U.S. Protests Against Canadian Whale Hunt

Canada authorized its native people to hunt two bowhead whales this year, despite pleas by the International Whaling Commission to stop issuing permits without the commission’s nod. However, the fact is that the Inuit do not even have to ask for permits from their federal government, as the right to whaling is granted through their land claims.

On August 17, the Nunavut, the Inuit of Eastern Arctic Canada, succeeded in taking a bowhead whale and on July 24, the Inuit of Western Arctic Canada, the Inuvialuit, also landed a bowhead.

US legislation (the Pelly Amendment) allows for trade sanctions to be imposed on nations whose actions “diminish(es) the effectiveness” of the International Whaling Commission. The procedure under this legislation requires certification by the administration, which then leads to a ruling by the president as to whether sanctions should be implemented. Both Norway and Japan have been certified as a result of their whaling activities, while Canada has still not been certified.

According to Reuter, Canada left the IWC in 1982, saying that it had no longer any direct interest in the whaling industry. “Clearly this is no longer the case,” said leader of the US IWC delegation, James Baker, who is also administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Canada’s unilateral whaling quotas call into question its commitment to international management of living marine resources,” Baker’s statement said, urging Canada to rejoin the IWC.

The Reuter news report claims that the Whaling Commission “allows limited whale hunts by aboriginal people to keep up their cultural traditions”. This notion was at this year’s IWC meeting contradicted by the unsuccessful attempts of the US and Russia to gather enough votes to pass hunting quotas for the Makah Indians and the Chukotka inuits.