Whaling (Hansard, 14 June 1999)

§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)

The International Whaling Commission's 51st Annual Meeting was held in Grenada from 24 to 28 May. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary attended the meeting, together with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands, as well as representatives of environmental organisations.

At the meeting my honourable friend re-affirmed the United Kingdom's opposition to whaling. We are pleased to say that efforts by Japan to secure a quota of 50 minke whales, despite the moratorium on commercial whaling, and to weaken the Southern Ocean Sanctuary were defeated by substantial majorities. There was once again strong criticism of Norway's and Japan's continued whaling activities.

The Chairman of the IWC, the Commissioner for Ireland, announced that discussions with IWC members on the ideas put forward by Ireland in 1997 were continuing, although he had no real progress to report. The Irish proposals would involve a ban on all whaling, including scientific whaling, outside coastal waters, with 9WA the possibility that countries might authorise whaling under IWC rules within their own coastal waters for domestic consumption. The proposals also envisage a ban on international trade in whale products.

In the ensuing debate my honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary made it clear that the UK's ultimate aim remained a permanent, worldwide moratorium on all whaling other than aboriginal subsistence whaling. However, we recognised that this was not something that was likely to be achieved overnight or that could be imposed on members of the IWC against their will. We were, therefore, prepared to consider ideas for reaching interim solutions on the way to our ultimate destination. But any arrangements of this kind would have to deliver very real benefits to whale conservation. In this context, we continued to have reservations about some aspects of the Irish proposals, in particular the possibility of renewed coastal whaling. My honourable friend noted that it seemed in any case unlikely that the Irish proposals represented a realistic way forward, given the opposition by Japan to ending scientific whaling. In these circumstances it was important to consider other ways in which the IWC could move forward. In the UK's view these included the creation of new regional sanctuaries; changing the emphasis of the IWC's scientific committee away from the management of whale stocks in the context of whaling towards a much broader exploration of whale conservation issues; continuing the IWC's efforts to assess fully the impact of environment change for cetaceans; greater involvement of the IWC in issues relating to small cetaceans; encouraging whale-watching as a benign, potentially very profitable and sustainable way of exploiting a natural resource; and continued involvement of the IWC in welfare issues, including the encouragement of more efficient and humane killing methods, particularly in aboriginal subsistence whaling.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary also reaffirmed that in the UK's view the IWC has an essential role to play as the only international body with worldwide responsibility for the conservation of whales and that we would continue to participate actively, and constructively, in its deliberations.

Australia and New Zealand reported that consultations were continuing on the idea of a South Pacific sanctuary but that they were not yet in a position to put forward a formal proposal; the IWC is likely to refer to this topic next year..

The meeting confirmed the central role that environmental concerns now play in the IWC's work. An impressive presentation by the US commissioner demonstrated the scale of the potential threat posed to cetaceans by climate change and pollution. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary emphasised that in the light of our increasing understanding of these threats there was greater concern than in the past about the ability of whale populations to withstand direct exploitation; in our 10WA view this was a cogent reason to adopt a precautionary approach to cetacean conservation and management. The IWC agreed to provide core funding, including £100,000 drawn from its reserves, for two substantial programmes of research on the effects of climate change and pollution on cetaceans; it also urged other interested parties to contribute to these programmes.

The IWC agreed a further three-year aboriginal subsistence quota permitting inhabitants of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to take two hump back whales a year. During the meeting the IWC considered whether recent takes under this quota contravened IWC rules which prohibit the killing of whale calves: it was not possible to reach a firm conclusion on this matter as the rules in question are not entirely clear. However, the agreement to extend the quota amended the rules to remove any uncertainty, and the IWC also agreed a definition of the term calf for the purposes of this quota. In agreeing the quota the IWC also noted commitments by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to ensure that this hunt is properly regulated, to review and improve hunting and killing methods and to provide a more detailed statement of its aboriginal subsistence needs when seeking any further quota. As amended, it is now absolutely clear that the taking of a cow and calf is forbidden.

The IWC meeting was preceded by a workshop of scientific and veterinary experts which examined methods used to kill whales with a view to improving their humaneness. The UK delegation to the workshop was led by Professor Sir Colin Spedding, a previous chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Council and an internationally recognised authority on welfare issues. The workshop produced an 11-point action plan to improve the effectiveness and humaneness of whale killing methods, including those used in aboriginal subsistence hunts. This was endorsed by the commission in a resolution, which went on to encourage member governments to continue to submit relevant information to the IWC and to future workshops and to take steps, including the provision of appropriate technical assistance, to improve the humaneness of aboriginal subsistence whaling.

The Dall's porpoise hunt off the coast of Japan is the largest directed take of small cetaceans in the world. Recent information suggest that the level of catch may not be sustainable and the IWC adopted a resolution, put forward by the UK, expressing concern about the sustainability of the hunt, directing the IWC's Scientific Committee to carry out a full review of the affected stocks in 2001 and in the meantime inviting the government of Japan to reconsider the quota it sets for Dall's porpoises.

A number of other issues were considered. There was a discussion on whalewatching, in which my honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary emphasised the economic benefits of this activity, particularly in the Caribbean, and drew attention to the guidelines on whalewatching in the UK issued by the Government. A resolution was adopted drawing attention to the risk posed to consumers of whalemeat (including meat from small cetaceans) by the high levels of contaminants found in some samples, and 11WA requesting the IWC's Scientific Committee to monitor contaminant burdens in cetaceans and, where necessary, pass the information on to the World Health Organisation and appropriate national authorities. Other resolutions were agreed requesting the Scientific Committee to develop DNA methods for monitoring the origin of whalemeat as part of a control scheme for any future whaling and drawing attention to the continued threat posed to small 12WA populations of highly endangered whales by ship strikes, by-catches, and in a limited number of cases, whaling.

Overall, this was a successful meeting for the UK. We achieved all our main objectives, and made progress towards our ultimate goals. My honourable friend's presence at the meeting underlined the importance that the Government attach to their policy of opposing whaling and to the role of the IWC.