Guest guest Posted July 1, 2003 Report Share Posted July 1, 2003 ***************************Advertisement*************************** eCentral - Your Entertainment Guide http://www.star-ecentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2003/7/1/features/whales & sec=fea\ tures ________________________ Tuesday, July 01, 2003 No sanctuary ANTI-WHALING nations failed to establish two new ocean sanctuaries for the giant mammals, falling short of the three-quarters vote required at the recently concluded meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Berlin, Germany. Delegates voted 24-17 in favour of a sanctuary in the South Pacific, and 24-19 for another protection zone in the South Atlantic on July18. Earlier, the commission approved an initiative to improve conservation efforts for whales and other cetaceans, a class of mammals that includes dolphins and porpoises. Another conservation initiative that was passed, over the objections of Japan and other nations that support whaling, established a committee within the 50-nation IWC to work with wildlife groups in bolstering protection efforts. Whaling is banned in two sanctuaries the commission set up in the Indian and Antarctic Oceans. New Zealand and Australia pushed to add another sanctuary over a large swathe of the South Pacific, while Argentina and Brazil sought a fourth protection zone in the South Atlantic. Both drew backing from the United States and European nations, which argue that sanctuaries allow endangered species to recover from hunting. Pro-whaling nations oppose sanctuaries on the grounds that they give blanket protection to both endangered and abundant species. Still, Japan had little success with a proposal to loosen protection for whales in the existing Antarctic sanctuary, which was defeated by 26 votes to 17. Making their case for sanctuaries, anti-whaling nations cited the importance of reviving whale stocks to encourage whale-watching. Caribbean nations that sided with Japan accused backers of ignoring poor countries & #8217; needs. Dominican delegate Lloyd Pascal described sanctuaries as “the closing of the Earth & #8217;s oceans for the selfish motives of the rich and famous ... to create a paradise of their tourism at the expense of hunger and poverty.” The debate highlighted the growing split in the International Whaling Commission, which imposed a global ban on commercial whaling in 1986. In Tokyo, fisheries ministry official Takanori Nagamoto said the conservation initiative threatened Japan & #8217;s research whaling programme as well as small-scale Japanese whalers who currently operate outside commission guidelines. Japanese kill hundreds of whales annually under a commission exemption for limited “research” hunts. The Japanese government says the hunts help gauge the impact of whale herds on fisheries stocks and provide data on their migration patterns and population trends. Critics call the programme commercial whaling in disguise because the meat is sold later to wholesalers and ends up in Japanese restaurants. & #8211; AP<p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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