International Whaling Commission (IWC)

IWC 62,

DAY 1 report

Greetings from Agadir, Morocco,

IWC 62 opened this morning in Agadir, Morocco against a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and the local Moroccan dancers amongst confusion and/or anticipation over the future of the IWC.

The confusion and/or anticipation over

· will the IWC accept or reject the Chairs compromise proposal
(or more commonly known as the 10 year whaling free for all)

· Will Australia stay strong in their opposition to this compromise

· Will USA and NZ continue to sell out the whales by promoting this10 year whaling deal?

· Will Japan walk out of the IWC is the whaling deal is rejected

· Will Greenland /Denmark con the commission (and the EU) into an additional aboriginal quota of 10 Humpbacks?

· Will the IWC finally act on the vote buying corruption (following a series of exposes by the Sunday Times in the UK)

Well didn’t get much of a chance to find out

After the opening formalities the Acting Chair Anthony Liverpool (Antigua and Barbuda) “suspended” the meeting until Wednesday!!!

To allow for the Commissioners to meet behind closed doors (away from public scrutiny?!) to try and agree on the compromise proposal (whaling deal)

NZ and USA were continuing to lead the cause to try and find agreement on the whaling deal (how did it get to this ?)

So the meeting is now being held behind closed doors and a DEAL is being struck, will it succeed?

Well we have to be vigilant and make sure that enough countries vote against this shameful whaling package. Make no mistake this DEAL would spell the end of the Moratorium

And once we lose the moratorium it will take generations to stop commercial whaling again.

So hopefully at the end of tomorrow’s closed session we will know where the proposal stands.

And perhaps the meeting can resume in the public domain, with civil society participating.

Ciao

Mick

Mick McIntyre
Director, Whales Alive
Follow the Whales Alive BLOG
www.whalesalive.org.au

IWC live feed can be found at

http://www.e-kujira.or.jp/iwc/iwcmeeting.html

ECO daily publication

http://www.earthisland.org/marinemammal/index.php/eco

The IWC meeting got under way this morning

and immediately the chair suspended the meeting until Wednesday !!

This is to allow closed door meetings to try and finalise the 10 year whaling deal.

What a disgrace, more later, Mick

Whaling talks suspended as deadlock continues

By environment reporter Sarah Clarke

June 21st Updated 28 minutes ago

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Within an hour of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) opening in Morocco, official talks were suspended for two days.

Representatives from more than 80 nations had gathered for the annual IWC meeting, set to be the most controversial in years.

But the deputy chair of the IWC has called for private talks to break the deadlock.

Australia is concerned by the development and says it "shuts down the official process which has been underway for two years".

The sticking point remains over a proposal to overturn a 24-year ban on commercial whaling.

Under the IWC draft proposal, which Australia is opposing, Japan would be allowed to catch 120 whales a year in its coastal waters.

Mick McIntyre from Whales Alive says the deal has split the anti-whaling nations.

"This is a deal that's being supported by what we once called our allies," he said.

"Pro-conservation countries like the US and New Zealand - how did this happen?"

Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett says the Australian Government cannot accept the compromise.

"Australia must be successful in opposing this shabby deal," he said.

"If such a deal were to go through, Australians would need to resign themselves to watching the slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean year after year over the next decade."

Greetings from Agadir, Morocco, where I am attending the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

I arrived in Agadir after a long journey via the UK and immedialtey went into working groups discussing the future of the IWC,

it is shaping up to be a crucial meeting, it will decide the future of the worlds whales,

please keep informed, the whales need you,

ciao

Mick

Protect the whales not the whalers

International Whaling Commission meeting to decide the fate of the world’s whales

Media release 00/01

17 June 2010

A proposal due to be considered at the 62^nd annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) next week would effectively lift the moratorium on commercial whaling. This would take us back to the dark days of commercial whaling, says Mick McIntyre, Director of Whales Alive.

“It is time that the IWC started protecting whales and not the whaling industry,” he said.

An IWC moratorium on commercial whaling has been in place since 1986. However Japan has successfully exploited a loophole in this ban to carry on its spurious so-called ‘scientific’ whaling program.

Since 1986 Japan, Norway and Iceland have slaughtered 35,000 whales.

“Governments are being asked to consider this new proposal which would legitimise whaling and give the whalers everything they could wish for and would see whales cruelly butchered on Australia’s doorstep in the IWC whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean. It is incomprehensible that the member nations of the IWC would allow this proposal to succeed,” Mr McIntyre said today as he left Sydney today to attend the IWC meeting in Agadir.

“In return all Japan need do is agree to an IWC monitoring program. There is no long-term commitment to phase out whaling. The slaughter will continue unabated. Accepting this proposal would be a tragic day for whales and everything Australians believe in,” said Mr McIntyre.

Recently the Australian government has taken Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in a bid to stop it from using the legal loophole to whale in the Southern Ocean. According to documents submitted by Australia to the ICJ, Japan is allegedly breaching the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research.

Mick McIntyre is the director of the Australian conservation group, Whales Alive a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and celebration of Whales and their fragile marine habitat. He has attended every IWC meeting as an observer since 1993.

McIntyre is available for comment on a daily basis direct from the IWC meeting in Agadir, Morocco which runs from June 21 – June 25.

Please contact Michael Young in Sydney, 0410 408 492

Mick in Morocco +212 6506229432

www.whalesalive.org.au

WHALES ALIVE PRESS RELEASE

Japanese Whalers to be Prosecuted

28 May 2010

The Announcement Today By The Australian Federal Government That It Will Take Japan To The International Court Of Justice In The Hague In An Attempt To End Its Barbaric Practice Of Whaling, Is Good News, Says Mick McIntyre, Director Of Australian Based Whales Alive.

“For years Japan has exploited a loophole at the IWC which has allowed it to continue the barbaric and inhumane slaughter of these magnificent creatures in the Southern Ocean under its so-called spurious ‘scientific whaling program’, which in reality is commercial whaling. Japan will at last be called to account for its outrageous behavior,” said McIntyre.

“Action needed to be taken outside the IWC which was gridlocked on this issue, “said Macintyre.

The Australian Labour Party went to the electorate in 2007 with a promise to take Japan to court to end whaling, a promise which is now fulfilling.

“Japan has shown a lack of good faith in stopping this barbaric practice and the Australian Government knows that Australians do not want to see any more images of Japanese whalers in action, such as we saw in 2008 when photos were published of a minke whale and its calf being hauled aboard a Japanese whaler,” said McIntyre.

Whales Alive applauds this move by the Australian Government to bring Japan to the International Court of Justice to account for its behavior.

Mick McIntyre has attended every International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting since 1993 and will be attending this year’s meeting in June at Agadir, Morocco.

McIntyre Is Available For Interview Call 0408 884 999, Or Michael Young 0410 408 492

Http://www.Whalesalive.Org.Au

28 May 2010

GOVERNMENT INITIATES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST JAPANESE WHALING

Australia will initiate legal action in the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Japanese ‘scientific’ whaling in the Southern Ocean.

The decision underlines the Government’s commitment to bring to an end Japan’s program of so-called ‘scientific’ whaling in the Southern Ocean. It also demonstrates our commitment to do what it takes to end whaling globally.

The Australian Government has not taken this decision lightly. We have been patient and committed in our efforts to find a diplomatic resolution to this issue. We have engaged in intensive discussions in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and bilaterally with Japan.

We have enjoyed the support of many other IWC members who share Australia's concerns and goals. We commend countries of the European Union, the Buenos Aires group of Latin American countries, and others who have joined with Australia in highlighting, in particular, the necessity for phasing out whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.

But to date, the response of the whaling countries has not been positive. Recent statements by whaling countries in the Commission have provided Australia with little cause for hope that our serious commitment to conservation of the world’s whales will be reflected in any potential IWC compromise agreement.

The Government has always been firm in our resolve that if we could not find a diplomatic resolution to our differences over this issue, we would pursue legal action. The Government’s action fulfils that commitment.

Australia will remain closely engaged in the IWC process and will continue to work hard in the lead up to and at the IWC meeting in June to pursue our objectives While an outcome at that meeting which meets Australia’s fundamental conservation objectives is slim, the Government will continue to engage constructively in the diplomatic effort.

Australia and Japan share a comprehensive strategic, security and economic partnership. We share a substantial commercial relationship built over many decades, growing strategic and security linkages, and work together closely in key international forums such as the G20, the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and APEC.

The Government’s action today reflects a disagreement in one element of a relationship that is deep, broad and multi-dimensional.

Both Australia and Japan have agreed that, whatever our differences on whaling, this issue should not be allowed to jeopardise the strength and the growth of our bilateral relationship.

At the same time, the Australian Government will keep working tirelessly to achieve an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean, and we will use all legal and diplomatic avenues to achieve our goal.

A formal application will be lodged in The Hague early next week.

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National Whale Day 2010 - Byron Bay

All sorts of exciting events are planned for National Whale Day 2010 in Byron Bay. Whales Alive will be up at the Cape Byron Lighthouse giving talks and presentations to the public from 11am - 1pm. You can come and meet whale researchers from the Southern Cross University Whale Research Group and learn all about whales and their environment. Following these presentations during the day, an action packed festival will then kick off in the evening.

To celebrate the return of the humpback whales, National Whale Day Festival 2010 has been organised by Whales Alive, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Surfers for Cetaceans for June 5th 2010 in Byron Bay, Australia. The day will celebrate the beauty and majesty of whales and raise awareness of their uncertain future. Come and learn about the plight of the whales whilst enjoying some great music, food and market stalls. The Festival's music lineup will feature Deya dova, Juzzie Smith, The Grains and Greg Sheehan plus a very special headline act - that's so special we can't mention their name. Vegetarian and vegan food stalls will be provided by local favourites including Soul bow, Organic Kitchen and Bay Leaf. the evening will also have silent auctions and raffles with great prizes, films by the Oceania Project and much much more!!

It is an all ages event. Gates open at 4pm and music begins at 4.30pm and will play into the late hours. The venue is 412 Ewingsdale Rd, Byron Bay. Follow the latest news about the event on the facebook page National Whale Day (Byron Bay and Northern NSW).

Humpback Whale Migration Begins

On Saturday 24th April 2010, the first of the whales were spotted off the Cape Byron Lighthouse by Whales Alive's Liz Hawkins. It's a great sign as winter descends upon us, the whales are returning to the tropics. We are anticipating a fantastic year for the whales and look forward to seeing some of our old friends!