Whale sanctuaries

·         There are two proposals for whale sanctuaries at this year's IWC. Both proposals have previously been rejected several times because they have no scientific basis and because they do not conform with the objectives of the Whaling Convention.

·         The South Pacific Sanctuary proposal is being submitted by Australia and New Zealand.

·         The South Atlantic Sanctuary proposal is being submitted by Brazil and Argentina.

·         There are currently two sanctuaries established by the IWC, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean.

·         The Indian Ocean Sanctuary was established by the IWC in 1979. It was initially established for 10 years and its duration has since been extended twice. It will be reviewed again this year.

·         The Southern Ocean Sanctuary was established in 1994. This prohibition will be reviewed this year, ten years after its initial adoption and at succeeding ten year intervals.

·         The Southern Ocean Sanctuary was established without any recommendation of the IWC Scientific Committee.

·         Japan lodged an objection to the Southern Ocean Sanctuary as provided for under the Convention and it is therefore not bound by it.

 High North Alliance opinion on whale sanctuaries:

·         Sanctuaries could be a useful management measure in the same way as open and closed areas are used for fisheries management.

·         Currently, sanctuaries are redundant as the RMS (Revised Management Scheme) will provide the necessary protection for all whale species and stocks in need. The RMS will only permit hunting of healthy and abundant whale stocks.

·         The current sanctuaries do not differentiate between stocks that are abundant and stocks that are still considered depleted.

·         Sanctuaries disregard the cultures, traditions, treaty rights, human rights and particular needs of the people who live in the proposed sanctuary areas and inhibit their ability to access customary foods to deal with their social and health issues.