Wwf opening statement 57th meeting of the iwc ulsan, republic of korea june 2005

WWF OPENING STATEMENT

JUNE 2005

WWF’s goal is to ensure that viable populations of all cetacean species occupy their historical range, and fulfill their role in maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems. WWF acknowledges the widely varied cultural attitudes toward the conservation and management of whales, but continues to oppose commercial whaling until whale stocks have recovered, and the governments of the world have brought whaling under international control with a precautionary and conservation-based enforceable management and compliance system adhered to by the whaling nations. (Please refer to the WWF Position Statement and other documentation for more detailed discussions and recommendations.)

Of the world’s 86 currently recognized species of cetaceans, the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies six species or populations as Critically Endangered, and at least one of these is in immediate danger of becoming the first cetacean species whose extinction was caused by humans. Another nine are considered Endangered, six are currently listed as Vulnerable, and many local and regional populations are seriously depleted. Of additional conservation concern is that 31 species of cetaceans have yet to be evaluated for IUCN classification, while 24 are considered “data deficient.” Many of the latter are small cetaceans that are poorly known on a global scale; these species, as well as large whales, can clearly benefit from IWC involvement.

THE IWC’S ROLE IN CETACEAN CONSERVATION

WWF opposes Japan’s announced intention to propose the deletion of important conservation items from the agenda of the IWC, including proposals for new sanctuaries, health issues, whalewatching, small cetaceans, and the Conservation Committee. Insisting that these issues are outside the scope of the Convention calls to question Japan’s commitment to cetacean conservation, and we urge the Government of Japan to reconsider its position.

WWF urges the IWC to take action rapidly to address significant threats facing cetaceans globally, such as bycatch, ship strikes, habitat degradation and the impacts of climate change by supporting the Conservation Committee and programmes of action to reduce these threats.

The IWC has an important contribution to make to the conservation of all cetaceans, but the refusal of some governments to recognize that the IWC has competence in respect of the management of small cetaceans does nothing to mitigate the many threats faced by whales, dolphins and porpoises worldwide. WWF urges governments to make the IWC an effective international forum for the conservation of all cetaceans.

WWF appreciates the ongoing work of the IWC Scientific Committee in reviewing the conservation status of small cetaceans, including this year’s review of the finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides). We urge the range countries of this species to undertake efforts to reduce incidental captures in fishing gear, and to restore degraded habitats for finless porpoise.

needless lethal research

The discussion surrounding the scientific necessity and general review of special whaling permits is at a critical juncture. Unless catches under special whaling permits are included within the RMS or regulated under a parallel, binding protocol, the precautionary controls discussed as part of the RMS are meaningless. This and other issues must be resolved before an effective RMS can be agreed.

WWF calls on the Governments of Japan and Iceland to stop abusing the special whaling permit provision of the ICRW by conducting commercial whaling under the guise of research. We urge both governments to bring their research efforts into the 21^st Century through the use of existing non-lethal techniques, and to refrain from using science as an excuse to bring whale meat into their commercial markets.

WWF believes the Contracting Governments of the IWC must ensure that IWC-related research meets modern accepted scientific techniques, so that the IWC’s credibility on this issue is maintained. Any RMS that is tabled must ensure that techniques for scientific whaling meet current best practice and do not include lethal research.

sanctuary for whales

WWF also urges the IWC to act to stop whaling in whale sanctuaries. Sanctuaries were established to allow scientists to study whales in the absence of whaling. Japan’s continued abuse of the scientific whaling provisions of the convention, by whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, is not acceptable.

Since 2001, the Commission and the Scientific Committee have expressed growing alarm at the critically endangered status of the western Pacific gray whale. The Scientific Committee has repeatedly advised that it is a matter of absolute urgency that every effort is made to eliminate human-caused mortality to this population, which is currently estimated at only about 100 animals. WWF is concerned that large-scale oil and gas development programmes by Shell, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Exxon Neftagas Ltd., and British Petroleum near the summer feeding ground of the western gray whale off Sakhalin Island, Russia, threaten the very survival of this population, and risk contaminating the benthic community on which these whales depend. A recently convened International Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) concluded that “The average loss of one extra female per year would be very likely to reverse the increase of the population and drive it towards extinction”. Therefore, this is a matter of conservation urgency.

We encourage all Contracting Governments of the IWC to support continued research and monitoring of this population, and we urge the Russian Federation and funders of the project, including the U.S. Export-Import Bank, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to actively pursue all possible actions to eliminate the risk that this development represents. The ISRP also recommended that all activities be suspended until the issues are satisfactorily resolved. WWF urges the Contracting Governments to the IWC to adopt a resolution and take action accordingly.

BYCATCH: THE GREATEST GLOBAL THREAT TO CETACEANS

A recent WWF sponsored report was submitted by scientists to this year’s IWC Scientific Committee. It revealed that nine small cetacean populations need immediate action if they are to survive the threat of entanglement in fishing gear. This is the first-ever such assessment by leading marine scientists. Previous estimates show that more than 300,000 cetaceans are killed in fishing gear each year. The report shows that these dolphins and porpoises could indeed recover if changes to fishing methods and other conservation efforts were made. They include harbour porpoises in the Black Sea, where thousands of porpoises are killed each year; Atlantic humpback dolphins off the coast of West Africa; Irrawaddy dolphins in South East Asia; and Franciscana dolphins in South America. Most of the species on the list are threatened by the widespread use of one type of fishing gear – gillnets. The report can be found at www.panda.org/species/iwc or www.worldwildlife.org/bycatchreport.

There is no intrinsic difference between bycatch and whaling in terms of their effect on cetaceans: both remove animals permanently from wild populations, and both potentially threaten the future of many cetacean species. If 300,000 cetaceans were being killed annually in commercial whaling operations, we have little doubt that the current membership of the IWC would take immediate action to bring the situation under control. Our response to bycatch should be no less decisive. WWF urges the Contracting Governments to adhere to existing resolutions on bycatch reduction, and to support additional concrete action by sponsoring a series of research and training workshops in developing nations with high rates of cetacean bycatch. Only through swift and co-operative international action to reduce bycatch will some critically endangered cetacean populations be saved.

OPERATION OF THE IWC

At the 57^th meeting of the IWC, governments must oppose the introduction of secret ballots. Cetaceans are of global concern, in the global commons; they are not owned by any one country, and it is critical that decisions made by the IWC about the future of whales are transparent and open for the world to see.

There is conclusive evidence that conserving whales provides more opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation than killing them. The growth of well-managed whale-watching operations around the world demonstrates that local communities benefit more, and in the longer term, from conserving whales.

Research has demonstrated the fallacy that killing whales is necessary to maintain fish stocks. The principle of beneficial predation, together with the evidence that pre-exploitation whale stocks were many times larger than today and co-existed with significantly larger fish stocks, means that we should be ensuring growth of whale populations. Promoting the growth of the whaling industry as a solution to food security, the achievement of the Millennium Development goals, or the sustainable development of developing countries, is clearly misconceived.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

We are all aware that there is a divergence of views at the IWC, particularly between whaling countries and their supporters, and non-whaling countries. Rather than focus on these differences, WWF encourages countries to try to find common ground, and work for the conservation of whales and other cetaceans. The world is watching to see if the IWC will indeed move forward or backwards. WWF wishes all participants a productive meeting.