7. WORLD-WIDE BAN ON WHALING

(from "Chairman's Report of the Thirty-Second Annual Meeting")


The Commission received the report from a Technical Committee Working Group which discussed species managed by the IWC. The Working Group reviewed the economic and social importance of whaling to member countries and noted the statement by Japan that whales are a traditional food and whaling is a traditional way of life for the Japanese. Some local communities are heavily dependent on whaling for their entire economy and employment. There are three elements involved (1) limited alternative opportunities, (2) whale meat still plays an important role in nutrition and (3) whaling has a significant cultural role. These are also significant to varying degrees in other whaling countries.

The Working Group attempted to evaluate the social and economic effects of a ban on whaling and estimated that there would be a loss of employment for some people directly employed and perhaps also those indirectly employed in commercial whaling. Recent Japanese experience indicated that 57% of personnel displaced have, so far, remained wholly or partly unemployed. Non-commercial whaling has many characteristics in common with the above, but with a stronger emphasis on the cultural aspects and less on the national economy.

The Working Group addressed the requirements of national legislation, international monitoring and enforcement as necessary procedures for implementation of a ban on whaling and the time period over which it could be instituted. The future activities of the IWC in the event of a ban were suggested in a paper by the Seychelles and the Working Group considered that some of these proposals were appropriate even in the absence of a ban, although not all countries participated in discussion of these last two items.

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