With Ireland holding the chairmanship of the International Whaling Commission, the Irish Wildlife Trust has backed the Government's controversial plan to control and reduce the present level of commercial whaling by Japan and Norway under the auspices of the commission. In a statement yesterday following a meeting with the Government's representative on the commission, Mr Michael Canny (who is also its chairman) the IWT reiterated that it remained opposed to all commercial whaling on conservation and ethical grounds. The IWT chairman, Mr Brendan Burgess, said: "Pending a complete ban on commercial whaling, we support the Irish Government's efforts. We nonetheless expressed reservations about the practicality of enforcing quotas on whaling nations, as regulation at sea is difficult."
Other IWT concerns outlined to Mr Canny centred on the difficulty of enforcing an effective ban on international trade in whale meat products. Mr Burgess said the IWT's view was that Ireland remains a whale conserving nation. The IWT accepted that the Irish proposals put on the table last year in Monaco were aimed at limiting existing whaling, which was taking place in defiance of world opinion, and were aimed at obtaining consensus between "whaling nations and conservation nations".
The Irish proposals include lifting the moratorium on commercial whaling but restricting it to coastal waters, and a ban on international trade in whale products.
The Australian government and a group of international conservation organisations have called on the Government to withdraw its proposals and to campaign instead for a complete ban on whaling. Other groups such as the Worldwide Fund for Nature (known as WWF) have recommended acceptance if the proposals can meet stringent conditions - notably a reduction in the number of whales killed and the international trade ban.
Mr Canny accepted the proposals could not satisfy everyone but he was confident that effective regulation and inspection could be implemented. The next full meeting of the commission is due in May, but there is nothing to indicate if a final decision will be achievable then.
