[Environment Report]:Whaling Commission Votes to Protect Whales


This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Environment Report.

The International Whaling Commission has voted to increaseefforts to protect whales. Members forcefully debated theresolution. Twenty-five members voted for it, twenty voted againstit. The vote was held in Berlin on the first day of the commission'syearly meeting.

Graphic Image
Graphic Image

The measure calls for setting up anew protection committee within the whaling commission. The newgroup will offer guidelines on how to protect whales from threats.These include the danger created by hunters. Other threats includepollution, shipping activity and the use of sonar in the ocean. Thesound produced by underwater radar can harm whales.

The new committee is also to seek ways to stop the accidentaldrowning of whales. This can happen when whales get caught infishing equipment. The measure also expands the commission'sinterests to include other ocean mammals, like dolphins andporpoises. The resolution does not give the future committee anyenforcement power.

Japan, Iceland and Norway led the opposition to the plan. Theysay it is an attempt to end whale hunting completely. The Japanesedelegation said the decision could destroy the International WhalingCommission. Japan, Norway and Iceland all are threatening to boycottthe advisory group. They argue that the new committee will be sodeeply divided it will not perform effectively.

Australia, Britain, Mexico and the United States were among thesupporters of the measure. An American delegate described themeasure as good governance. And, he said it should have beenestablished earlier.

The decision by the International Whaling Commission marks achange in the organization's main purpose. It was set up innineteen-forty-six to supervise the whale hunting industry. Thecommission would set limits on whale catches for members.

During the next forty years, however, whale populations weregreatly reduced. This led the commission to ban almost all whalehunting. The ban has remained in effect since nineteen-eighty-six.

There are exceptions. Native communities are permitted to huntwhales for their own use. And, the commission permits some huntingfor the stated purpose of scientific research.

This VOA Special English Environment Report was written by CatyWeaver.

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