Irish whaling plan opposed as commission meets

Ireland's proposal for a global whale sanctuary, which would also permit limited hunting within 200-mile limits, will be one of the most controversial issues for debate when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets in Australia today. The compromise proposal, first submitted three years ago in an attempt to end the impasse over the future of the whale, has split the environmental community. Loopholes in the current moratorium on whaling have allowed Japan and Norway to continue hunting the threatened species, and both states are pushing to have the ban lifted altogether.

A coalition of 140 campaign groups worldwide, including 13 from Ireland, has issued a statement opposing the Irish motion. The coalition called on the Government to reconsider its position, saying the move would "revive a global whaling industry and a market for whale meat which would destroy the world's surviving whale populations".

"About 40 per cent of the world's oceans lie within the 200-mile limits of coastal states," said Mr Andy Ottaway, a former Greenpeace member and director of the British-based Campaign Whale organisation. "Nearly all of the world's whales spend part, if not the majority, of their lives within these waters when feeding, migrating, breeding or nursing young. These whale populations are under increasing stress."

However, Ms Cassandra Phillips, of the World Wide Fund for Nature, is not so critical. "Currently, the situation is worse than deadlocked, because the number of whales being killed by Japan and Norway is steadily rising."

The motion was submitted on behalf of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms Sile de Valera, in 1997 - the year that Ireland took up the chair of the prestigious IWC under Mr Michael Canny of Duchas. It allows for a global sanctuary, which would permit whaling in coastal zones up to 200 miles offshore, subject to inspection and observation procedures.

The proposal stipulates that whale products would be for local consumption only. It also proposes phasing out lethal scientific whaling, and the regulation of whale watching.

"The IWC is at an impasse," the wording, tabled at the IWC meeting in Monaco in 1997, emphasised. "Despite the moratorium, the IWC does not now control or regulate all whaling in the world. Whaling takes place legally in accordance with the Convention under objection to the moratorium, or under Article VIII (scientific)." The catch increased from 383 whales in 1992 to 1,043 in 1997.

Ireland has stressed that the measure would be underpinned by inspection and observation. However, Norway is opposed to allowing observers on its vessels, and both states are opposed to funding the inspection system. This represents one of the main obstacles to achieving the required consensus during the three-day meeting in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Ireland has turned down a request from Australia to support a new whale sanctuary in the south Pacific.