Posts Tagged ‘IWC2012’
South Korean PM confirms end to 'scientific' whaling plans
WDCS welcomes the fact that the Korean Times is reporting that “Despite the necessity of scientific research about whales, the government decided to only allow the studies that do not require whaling,” Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said during his weekly briefing to President Lee Myung-bak held on Tuesday. Officials from the presidential office, the Prime…
Read MoreIWC 64 Blow by Blow Account of what happened
Here reproduced in one place and in sequence are all the diary reports from the WDCS team attending IWC 64, starting on the weekend before the meeting opened. BLOG 1. STORM CLOUDS BUILD OVER PANAMA CITY IWC 64 in Panamá City, Panamá Here begins the blog from the WDCS Team at the sixty…
Read MoreA summary of the key issues and decisions at IWC 64
THE KEY OUTCOMES OF THE SIXTY FOURTH MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION HELD IN PANAMA CITY, 2012 With all the smoke from 64th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) now settling and most delegates safely home, we thought that it might be useful to review the main outputs of the meeting and consider…
Read MoreSouth Korea backs down on plans to start whaling
The Australian press is reporting that South Korea is backing down on its threats to resume commercial whaling through the loophole of so-called ‘scientific whaling’. The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Australian are both reporting that due to pressure both internally from its own media and NGOs and after strong protests from Australia, the US…
Read MoreInitial reports suggest 60 pilot whales killed in Faroe Islands
WDCS has received an initial notification that some sixty pilot whales have been killed in the Faroe Islands. We shall report more as we know it. Background of Faroese small whale hunts
Read MoreAnother Korean newspaper and another local NGO calls for a pull back on whaling plans
The Hankyoreh said it “makes no sense” to start hunting whales again. “The government explained the need for scientific whaling by noting a significant rise in the whale population over the 26 years the ban has been in effect,” the editorial said. “Officials have claimed that this has resulted in widespread damages that demand urgent…
Read MoreGreenland and the evolving concept of ‘Local Community’ in relation to its demands for increased large whale quotas
Since the IWC meeting, I have been asked by some observers why do I think that the Greenlandic and Danish delegations actively threw away their chances of getting a quota this year? These same officials knew that the European Uion (EU), after the revelations of tourists eating bowhead whale meat and an internal EU coordination…
Read MoreLast Few Hours of Whaling Commission Meeting – blow by blow
Final Report from the IWC Team at WDCS 64 Things get a little messy but much applause follows as we draw to a close. (Pictured here are the Commissioners of the UK and Monaco: Nigel Gooding and Frederick Briand.) After lunch, a few amendments are noted to the administrative document which will define how the…
Read MoreKorea takes another step back from the brink
The Korean Herald reports (9th July) that ‘ The chief Korean delegate to the IWC meeting told local media last Friday that Seoul would not push to resume whaling over objections from the international community.’ As reported here yesterday, it appears that Korean fisheries officials may have overstepped the mark, with the Herald reporting that…
Read MoreKorean domestic opposition rises against the Government's announcement
It appears that the Korean Government may have misjudged the feeling of the Korean people when it comes to whales. Yes, the legalising of net whaling ‘accidents’ has given cover for illegal whaling to feed the demands of the restaurants of Ulsan, but the rest of the country seems a little slower to celebrate the…
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