Opening Statement Of Japans Minoru Morimoto To IWC

IWC/53/OS Japan

OPENING STATEMENT OF MINORU MORIMOTO
COMMISSIONER FOR JAPAN
AT THE 53rd ANNUAL MEETING OF
THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION

At the outset, I would like to thank the Government of the United Kingdom for hosting this 53rd Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission.

This meeting is a critical one for the IWC. It can implement the risk-averse management procedure recommended by its own Scientific Committee that will provide safe quotas for abundant whale stocks or, it can continue to delay such action for emotional and political reasons.

IWC decisions based on emotion and politics are not compatible with science or international law including the ICRW. We urge those members who have maintained a position against the resumption of whaling, irrespective of the science and irrespective of the objective of the ICRW, to reconsider their position. Outside the IWC, there is support for the resumption of whaling on a sustainable basis. The principle of sustainable use is accepted worldwide and whales are a resource just like other wildlife. This Commission should support the use of abundant whale resources consistent with the Convention and sustainable use principles of the UNCLOS, UNCED, the Kyoto Declaration and FAO’s International Action Plans as well as the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

Clearly, completion and implementation of the RMS must be the priority for this meeting of the IWC. It must be an RMS that is consistent with the terms and scope of the ICRW and it must be an RMS that is realistic to implement and be paid for by all members of the Commission.

Misinformation: There has been a lot of misinformation concerning whales but perhaps the worst case of misinformation has been the criticism of Japan’s whale research programs that have been labeled as “illegal whaling” and “commercial whaling in disguise”. Members of this Commission should know that contrary to these claims, Japan’s whale research programs are perfectly legal under Article VIII of the ICRW and that the Commission’s Scientific Committee has commended both the quality and quantity of data from these programs noting that they are providing valuable information for the management of whale stocks.

Research: Scientific research is an essential part of conservation and management of all marine resources including whales. The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling requires that its regulations “shall be based on scientific findings”. That is why Japan is continuing its whale research program in the Antarctic which is the only long-term study providing information on the role of whales in the ecosystem and the effects of environmental changes on whales. We are also conducting the second year of Phase II of our research program in the North Pacific this year. The priority for this research program is feeding ecology involving studies on prey consumption by cetaceans, prey preferences of cetaceans and ecosystem modeling. Japan’s whale research programs pose no risk to the whale populations.

Consumption of fish by cetaceans: The matter of competition between marine mammals and fisheries is now of serious concern for nations dependant on fisheries as well as for a number of global and regional fisheries management organizations including the FAO which have urged the development and implementation of ecosystem approaches to the management of marine resources. Recent estimates are that cetaceans consume 3 to 5 times the amount of marine resources harvested for human consumption. Since fish consumption by cetaceans often competes directly with fisheries, it is clear that without serious consideration of this matter, efforts to responsibly manage the world’s fisheries resources may be seriously undermined. We therefore welcome the IWC’s attention to this matter.

Normalization of the IWC: The Government of Japan’s position on the other substantive matters to be discussed at this year’s meeting has not changed. We are therefore steadfast in our conviction that the Commission must get back to its primary purpose, based on the provisions of the ICRW. It is the view of Japan that the normalization of the IWC would be facilitated if the use of secret ballots which are commonly used in other international organizations and which are a fundamental principle of democracy were introduced to the IWC procedures. Membership limited to countries with a real interest in fisheries management and increased membership of developing countries would also help to normalize the IWC.

Sanctuaries: It is the view of the Government of Japan that the proposals for the establishment of sanctuaries are a part of the misinformation about whales and whaling. These represent a political attempt to subvert the purpose of the ICRW and undermine more than a decade of work by the Scientific Committee and the Commission to develop a risk averse system for managing the sustainable utilization of abundant whale resources. While the ICRW provides for the establishment of sanctuaries, it requires that such measures be necessary to carry out the purpose of the Convention and that they be based on scientific findings. The proposals for a South Pacific Sanctuary put forward by Australia and New Zealand and the proposal by Brazil for a sanctuary in the south Atlantic clearly do not meet these requirements and should be rejected.

Conclusion: Japan is not urging other members of the IWC to take up commercial whaling, but we cannot accept their denying us the right to sustainably utilize abundant marine resources in a manner consistent with the treaty that governs the work of this Commission.

ENDS

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