Posted on 23 February
2010
A new draft compromise
on whaling released by the International
Whaling Commission (IWC) today set a dangerous
precedent that the international community
must reject, WWF said.
A working group within
the IWC today unveiled a new compromise
aimed at unlocking the stalled negotiation
process between countries fundamentally
opposed to whaling and states that support
it.
While the compromise
contains many positive elements for whale
conservation that would help bring the IWC
into the 21st Century, the compromise could
legitimise ‘scientific’ whaling by Japan
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
“If there is one single
place in the world where whales should be
fully protected, it is the Southern Ocean,”
said Wendy Elliott, Species Manager at WWF-International.
“What we need is to eliminate all whaling
in the Southern Ocean, including Japanese
commercial whaling thinly disguised as ‘scientific
research’. But what we have now is a deal
which could make it even easier for Japan
to continue taking whales in this ecologically
unique place.”
The IWC has maintained
a ban on all commercial whaling since 1986.
But, defying this ban, Japan, Norway and
Iceland use loopholes in the IWC’s founding
treaty to kill more than 1,500 whales a
year. The loopholes allow whaling under
‘objection’ to management decisions (Norway
and Iceland) and “scientific” whaling for
research purposes (Japan).
The IWC also provides
special protection to a critical whale feeding
area, the Southern Ocean surrounding the
continent of Antarctica, which the IWC established
as a 50 million square kilometre whale sanctuary
in 1994. This extra layer of protection
signifies the importance of this area as
the primary feeding habitat of many of the
Southern Hemisphere’s whale populations.
Additionally, the proposal
sets a process in motion that could endorse
quotas which haven’t yet had a full and
proper scientific review. “It is difficult
to see how determining quotas through politics
rather than science can be considered progress,”
added Elliott.
The are some positive
aspects of the compromise including increased
efforts to secure the recovery of depleted
whale populations, action on critical conservation
threats facing whales such as such as bycatch
and climate change, and improved governance
and compliance. However, the compromise
cannot be accepted by WWF as long as it
allows whaling in the Southern Ocean.
The new compromise which
will be discussed by a group of IWC countries
at a meeting in March, is intended to be
adopted by the IWC at its next full meeting
in June this year.
+ More
WWF helps Singaporean
seafood consumers go green
Posted on 25 February
2010
The new ‘Singapore Seafood Guide’ produced
by WWF helps concerned seafood consumers
and corporations make more informed and
sustainable seafood consumption choices.
With an average of 100,000
tons of seafood consumed each year, Singapore
is one of the biggest seafood consumers
in Asia-Pacific. It is also an important
seafood hub and almost all of it is imported
from the Coral Triangle, the world’s most
diverse marine environment.
“The fragile marine
ecosystems of the Coral Triangle are under
increasing threat because fish are being
taken out of the seas faster than they can
be replenished”, says Dr Geoffrey Muldoon
of WWF’s Coral Triangle Program.
“In the past most people
have been unaware of where the fish on their
plates comes from or whether the species
they are eating are heavily overfished or
caught in ways that are damaging to marine
environment”, said Amy Ho, Managing Director
at WWF Singapore. “Much of the seafood you
see in Singapore may be from areas that
have been overfished for years”.
In an opinion poll of
Singaporeans commissioned by WWF, 80% of
those asked said they would either stop
or reduce eating seafood if they were made
aware that it was being unsustainably harvested.
Easy to carry around
when buying seafood or dining out, the pocket-sized
guide gives Singaporeans support in choosing
species that are fished and farmed responsibly.
The guide uses a simple traffic light system:
GREEN – recommended eating choice; YELLOW
– only eat occasionally; and RED – avoid
eating.
The WWF Singapore Seafood
Guide is one element of the broad and far
reaching marine conservation work of the
WWF network which promotes sustainable seafood
by working along the entire ‘change of custody’
– from the ocean to the plate.
In Singapore WWF will
be working together not only with consumers
but also with retailers, hotels, restaurants
and traders to raise awareness of more sustainable,
responsibly farmed and fished seafood.
“We look forward to
collaborating with the Singapore seafood
campaign to generate greater awareness to
our guests and diners about the urgent need
for being sustainable and eco-friendly with
our dining choices” says Mr. Ian Wilson
- General Manager, Fairmont Singapore. “We
will kick start this by making necessary
adjustments in our menus."
The Singapore Seafood
Guide is available as a free download from
the WWF Singapore website (www.wwf.sg) and
will also be distributed free of charge
throughout Singapore in a range of outlets
in the coming months, including the National
Geographic Store, Sentosa Nature Discovery,
Sinema, Singapore Botanic Gardens, SuperNature,
WISMA Atria, (see www.wwf.sg for further
information).
