Kyoto Returnee
Sempai
- 18 Dec 2007
- 598
- 4
Court rules Japan whalers breaking Aust law
spokesman for the Fisheries Agency of Japan, Mr Hideki Moronuki, has told the ABC he is not in a position to comment on the ruling because Australia's claim to Antarctic waters is not recognised by the international community.
Is that so??
And since when are they (free for) japanese instead? (ahem)
Thanks for the article!
Southern Ocean Sanctuary 2004 Review
The proposal to establish a Southern Ocean Sanctuary was first put to the IWC by France in 1992. The IWC had already designated the entire Indian Ocean southward to 55ºS latitude as a sanctuary in 1979. In 1994, the IWC voted by 23 to 1 to adopt the majority of the Southern Ocean south of 40ºS as a sanctuary in which all commercial whaling is prohibited. Click on the link to the right to download a table showing the vote results country by country. Japan was the only country to vote against the Sanctuary and lodged an objection to the extent that it applies to minke whales. The Southern Ocean Sanctuary came into effect on 6th December 1994 for an indefinite period, but will be reviewed in 2004.
The major objective of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary is to protect some populations of Southern Hemisphere whales throughout their migratory ranges and life cycles - and to contribute to the restoration and protection of the unique and fragile Antarctic marine ecosystem. The Sanctuary gives protection to around three quarters of the world's whales, in an area where whale populations had been reduced to a tiny fraction of their original numbers by commercial whaling.
The Southern and Indian Ocean Sanctuaries are connected, therefore the SOS affords protection to the Indian Ocean's whales as they migrate south to feed in Antarctic waters.
The Southern Ocean Sanctuary will be reviewed by the IWC at its annual meeting in Sorrento, Italy, in July 2004. If the continued existence of the Sanctuary is put to a vote this will be the most significant vote for whale conservation taken in the IWC since the adoption of the Sanctuary 10 years previously.
In terms of protecting whales, the Sanctuary has great importance for its moral authority as well as its legal authority. The fact that in 1994, the only objection was from Japan, and that only in so far as the Sanctuary applies to minke whales, showed a level of universal international acceptance of the general principle of the Sanctuary. New scientific findings since 1994 only strengthen the case for the Sanctuary. However, Japan has been successfully rallying support for its position within the IWC. Several new countries have joined and others may be under pressure to change their position on the Sanctuary. In fact, Japan was not even prepared to wait for the 2004 review and proposed a Resolution in 2002 aimed at undermining the Sanctuary which failed (17 for, 24 against). The IWC member countries closest to the Sanctuary, Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa, are all strong supporters of the Sanctuary.
IFAW campaigned long and hard for the successful adoption of the Sanctuary in 1994. However, we recognised that the work did not end there. To make the Sanctuary more effective we need a greater understanding of the Antarctic ecosystem. One of the arguments put forward against the Sanctuary is that without whaling there would be no incentive to conduct research to monitor how whale populations are responding to other factors such as global climate change or fluctuations in their prey.
Though there is not the embarkation permission that they invaded a ship.
It is a crime.
It is a pirate, and they are terrorists.
Though there is not the embarkation permission that they invaded a ship.
It is a crime.
It is a pirate, and they are terrorists.
That's what our vessel is down there to do, and that's what they have requested that the whaling vessel do, which is cease and desist their illegal whaling activities.
thenThey were successful in delivering the message, but then they were not allowed to leave and return back to our vessel
Some more great news for the whales
Here's an update to that story:
Japan 'agrees to free' Sea Shepherd activists
The Japanese whalers have agreed to let the protesters go, but haven't yet. Who is being violent here? No environmental group has taken Japanese fishermen hostage. It seems that one kind of violence leads to another - if a person is prone to killing whales, they're also prone to other kinds of violence, including against people.