Whale court action risky says Palmer

Court action against Japan over whaling could fail and put anti-whaling countries in a worse position, New Zealand's representative to the International Whaling Commission says.

Australia has threatened to take a case to the International Court of Justice if diplomatic measures this year, aimed at stopping Japan whaling in the Southern Ocean, fail.

New Zealand is considering a compromise and commissioner Sir Geoffrey Palmer said if that was reached more whales would be saved, while taking a case to the ICJ could be counterproductive.

"We regard that as a very uncertain proposition at all, and if that case were lost the situation would be worse than it is now," he said on TVNZ's Q+A programme yesterday.

IWC nations met recently to talk about a proposal to allow Japan, Norway and Iceland openly to hunt whales despite a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, but to aim to reduce the total catch over the next 10 years.

Japan is using a loophole to kill whales, saying it is for scientific research, while the other countries are not bound by the moratorium as they did not agree to it.

Australia has ruled out backing the compromise, saying all whaling in the Southern Ocean should be phased out within five years. "We don't want any whaling in the Southern Ocean, we don't want any commercial whaling," Sir Geoffrey said. "The difficulty is that if you approach this matter like it's an issue of religious zeal you don't get anywhere because we have no way of enforcing our will. If this is going to work, this whole negotiation, there have to be some compromises on both sides."

The next IWC meeting is in Morocco in June.

Japan, Norway and Iceland issue permits allowing them to catch about 3000 whales a year and about 1600 are killed commercially.

Sir Geoffrey said the yearly kill numbered 13,500 before the moratorium.

He said the IWC was dysfunctional and if no agreement could be reached it would collapse.

If the proposal was agreed to the moratorium would stay but allow for a set number of whales to be killed. "What I am saying is that we want fewer whales, many fewer whales, killed than at the moment. Let's look at the facts, let's be realistic, let's not be emotional."

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has previously said that any deal to allow whaling would have to guarantee significant reductions to get New Zealand support.

- NZPA

Newest First

Oldest First