The First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas

Panelists and titles of presentations:
History and status of IWC whaling sanctuaries
Arne Bjørge
<strong>The</strong> history and current status of IWC whaling sanctuaries was presented to launch
discussion of the topic.
IWC whaling sanctuaries: the Brazilian perspective
José Truda Palazzo, Jr.
Prior to the 1982 global moratorium on commercial whaling, the <strong>International</strong> Whaling
Commission was failing to achieve its stated objective of conserving whales for future
generations. <strong>The</strong> prohibition, rather than simply the management, of commercial
whaling was seen by many as necessary to ensure conservation of the world’s stocks of
whales. This position has become even more compelling as novel threats to cetaceans
and ocean ecosystems have come to be recognized (e.g., climate change, ocean
acidification). Sanctuaries are consistent with the conservation mandate of the IWC.
Member nations, especially developing ones, increasingly see sanctuaries as important
tools for promoting both the recovery of whale populations and their use for scientific
and socio-economic benefits through entirely non-lethal means.
High-seas sanctuaries, by preventing the encroachment of pelagic whaling fleets from
faraway countries, reinforce the policies of coastal States that prohibit whaling in their
own jurisdictional waters and reserve whale resources for non-lethal appropriation by
coastal communities. In addition, IWC sanctuaries can help protect whales as they move
between other MPAs and provide a framework for MPA managers, policy makers, and
other actors to communicate and cooperate. For these conservation benefits to be
realized, however, the IWC and its Scientific Committee will need to move from a “prowhaling”
perspective to one that embraces non-lethal uses as legitimate and essential for
the future of whale species and populations.
A review of IWC whaling sanctuaries
Doug DeMaster
<strong>The</strong> <strong>International</strong> Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) was signed in 1946
as a direct result of over-harvesting of whale species worldwide. <strong>The</strong> IWC periodically
adopts new or revises existing regulations by amending the Schedule, which is an integral
part of the ICRW. Amendments to the Schedule require a three-quarters majority of
those member countries voting. <strong>The</strong> Indian Ocean Sanctuary was established in 1979,
while the Southern Ocean Sanctuary was established in 1994. Schedule amendments
prohibit commercial whaling in these sanctuaries, although other human activities that
could have impacts on whale populations (e.g., fishing, scientific whaling) are not
regulated. At 10-year intervals, the IWC is required to review the effectiveness of each
sanctuary relative to its associated objectives. This review process has proven
contentious within the IWC. To some extent, the lack of consensus is related to how the
objectives of these sanctuaries were originally developed. Any review of future
ICMMPA <strong>Conference</strong> Proceedings
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