Senator Joanne Massiah
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Senator Joanne Massiah is currently in Panama as the alternate commissioner representing Antigua & Barbuda at the plenary session of the 64th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The conference, which opened Monday, is scheduled to conclude Friday. Monday’s discussions centred on sanctuaries, the IWC in the future and whale stocks.
“The sanctuary issue is highly contentious and is of concern to the countries which subscribe to the principal of the sustainable use of living marine resources – including the OECS states – which all oppose the proposal,” a release from the Office of the Prime Minister said.
“Importantly, the refusal of the proponents of what is, in essence, a scheduled amendment to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to engage in meaningful dialogue with countries which oppose their proposals has further fuelled the debate.”
Repeatedly tabled for consideration since 1998, the proposal essentially seeks to create a sanctuary for whales in the South Atlantic Ocean – an area which encompasses vast maritime space – is co-sponsored by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and supported by all the anti-sustainable use countries.
The proponents claim that their primary objective is to promote bio-diversity, conservation, the non-lethal use of whales and stimulate the coordinated research activities of developing coastal nations.
However, the objection to the proposal by the pro-sustainable use countries is based on the fact that the Scientific Committee of the IWC has repeatedly stated that there is no ecological justifiable reason for the establishment of such sanctuaries.
This finding was re-enforced in 2004 by a panel of external scientists who, on reviewing a similar proposal for the establishment of the Southern Ocean sanctuary, stated emphatically that the justification proffered by the proponents are inter alia, “based on vague goals and objectives, lack rigorous approach to its design” and have no basis in science.
“Sadly, the proponents have blatantly refused to accept the findings of the Commission’s own scientists on this issue,” the government release noted.
“Further, Antigua & Barbuda highlighted again that presently, no whaling of any kind takes place within the proposed boundaries, that the 1982 moratorium on whaling remains in effect and that there are other far-reaching adverse effects which the proposal would have on the developmental aspirations of developing coastal nations such as, maritime traffic and renewable energy explorations currently ongoing within the southern Caribbean.”
Someone should harpoon that whale in the picture! There’s probably enough fat in that specimen to burn lamps in Antigua for a year or two!
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Last I checked the IWC was broken down into two factions: Pro-whaling and Anti-whaling. There is no such thing as “anti-sustainable use countries” in the IWC as there is overwhelming support for aboriginal subsistence whaling — the only valid argument for taking whales.
Industrial whalers proved in the 20th century that they are incapable of profitably exploiting whales while also obeying regulations without driving the animals to the brink of extinction. They continue to prove their inability to follow the rules today by blatantly flouting IWC decisions to prohibit commercial whaling.
So, apparently Antigua’s government approves of killing whales and actively works against conservation efforts to protect whale species that are endangered as a result of the last century of over-hunting. That makes Antigua a pro-whaling nation.
Perhaps Antigua’s government would like to explain just how many endangered and threatened species of whales can be found migrating, breeding, and feeding in the Atlantic Ocean — and alternately why these animals do not deserve any respite from hunting, bycatch, ship strikes and other considerations afforded by an international sanctuary.
Then again, maybe Antigua’s officials could care less about what happens to whales as long as they continue to receive a pay-off in the form of funding from Japan — corruption at its finest.
Perhaps it’s time for boycotts of tourism and other trade to countries like Antigua that think the rest of the world is willing to sit back and do nothing.
Apparently Antigua is for killing endangered and protected whales for profit — Antigua is a pro-whaling nation.
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I am from one of the NGOs (WDCS) that supported the proposal for the sanctuary so I must declare an interest right from the start.
Despite what this article says, there were good reasons why the sanctuary could have been of benefit to whales and marine issues in general. The sanctuary would have been a catalyst for more study in the region, as well as securing the habitat of the Southern Right Whale, a species that ranges from Argentina to South Africa.
The sanctuary would not have impacted ‘the developmental aspirations of developing coastal nations such as, maritime traffic and renewable energy explorations currently ongoing within the southern Caribbean’ and indeed could have enhanced the cetacean diversity that would only add to the region’s rich natural heritage.
The 2004 review alluded to regarding the Southern Ocean Sanctuary is misleading in that the IWC has maintained the Sanctuary, therefore endorsing it as a useful management tool, and has consistently condemned Japan’s so called ‘Scientific Whaling’ in the IWC designated protected area.
One must question why does Antigua wish to see whales dying when the majority of people in the world do not share this view? The United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) specifically calls for the cooperation in the protection of cetaceans, and indeed allows for stricter protective measures than called for for other marine bio-diversity.
I have to say that the accusation that the proponents of the Sanctuary have refused ‘to engage in meaningful dialogue with countries which oppose their proposals’ is disingenuous at best. Argentina and Brasil as two of the main proponents have been open to discussions on this issue since 1998 as noted in the article. Its been the opponents of the proposal who have avoided dialogue, even going so far as to walk out of the IWC last year rather than discuss the issue.
Was Antigua one of those countries? I would urge the citizens of Antigua to ask their Government why they opposed something that could only have benefited the oceans, whales and the people of Antigua?
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