IWC started
The first day of the Plenary Meeting passed without surprises
June 22th, 2009.- Funchal

The 61th International Whaling Commission (IWC) Annual Meeting officially started this morning. Nowadays, the IWC has 85 Member Countries and most of them are present at the meeting. Argentina is there, represented by Javier Figueroa and Miguel A. Iñíguez Bessega.

In truth, the surprise of the day was an orchestra of Madeira which, after the welcoming remarks made by the chairman of the IWC, Dr. William Hogarth, delighted all participants with a musical tour around the world.

After that, the representative of Madeira’s Government, Dr. Alberto João Jardim, gave a welcoming speech for all participants, and then the Environment Minister of Portugal, Dr. Francisco Nunes Correia, did the same and stressed that Portugal had been a whaling nation which later became an advocate of cetaceans’ conservation, and in the present it has an important whalewatching industry on its territory, and in particular on the Madeira Island. As a highlight point of his speech, the Minister emphasized the commitment of Portugal with the permanence of the moratorium and the need for stronger protection measures for whales.

The Agenda was then approved and the sessions of discussions of the issues stablished there started.

The first of these points was related to the assessments that the IWC Scientific Committee is making on whale populations of the world. The chairman of this Committee, Dr. Arne Bjorge, presented the results of the discussions at its last meeting, which was held just over a week ago. Among the highlights points he informed that although the Scientific Committee has received new information it has failed to establish an abundance estimate for Antarctic minke whales at the moment. Issues related to the minke whales stocks in the western North Pacific were also mentioned, some of which would be included in a proposal on Small Type Japanese Coastal Whaling, if it’s approved. This is one of the most contentious issues that it is expected to be presented at this meeting as part of discussions on the Future of the IWC. This proposal would allow Japan to capture a certain type of minke whales in its coastal waters, in exchange for a reduction in the numbers of whales caught in its scientific hunts.

After lunch, the report of the Working Group on Whale Killing Methods and Associated Welfare Issues was red. This group met last week to review the available information to advise the Committee, among others, on more efficient killing methods with the aim of reducing the suffering of animals that have been caught. The chairman of this working group, Esko Jaakola - from Finland - presented the highlights points of the discussions of this group and informed the Committee that no agreement was reached, and therefore it was not able to provide any recommendation at this time. In this regard, a Workshop on Associated Animal Welfare Issues in relation to euthanasia and bycatch of large whales will be conducted next year, in Hawaii.

For tomorrow, it is expected that discussions will continue and progress be made on some of the most controversial topics of the 61th IWC Meeting.

For more information about IWC:
www.cethus.org
www.iwcoffice.org