Who Should Look After the World's Whales?

The next International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting is planned for St Kitts in the Caribbean from June 16 to 20. Rumor has it that the meeting will mark a change in the balance of power at the IWC from the antiwhaling to the prowhaling nations.

This would likely result in an eventual lifting of the ban on commercial whaling.

Given the IWC was established to manage whale stocks, and the whaling industry, rather than close it down, so the change may bring the Commission closer to its original purpose.

Interestingly, a recent essentially pro-whaling opinion article in the New York Times, suggested that having the IWC manage whaling was like having 'the fox guarding the chicken coop'. The article went on to suggest that the responsibility for looking after the world's whales should be transferred to the United Nations (1).

In the review of a book titled 'Marine Mammals and Northern Cultures' (2), Ian Stirling from the Canadian Wildlife Service asks the question:

"How did whales of all species become “a global resource”, thereby giving the international community license to tell local people what they could or should do (or not do).

Regardless of one’s personal views, this is not a trivial question and it applies to more resources than whales. Although not discussed [in the book], that question might also raise a parallel question about whether the international community should have a significant influence on the regulation of harvest of whales, cod, krill, large predatory fish, or a host of other marine species, especially given what the fate of many has been at the hands of various users, both commercial and non-commercial."

What has the international community been good at managing? Where are the success stories in wildlife management and at what level were the programs developed and implemented?

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References

1. ' Save Your Whale and Eat It, Too' by Philip Armour, published May23, 2006, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/opinion/23armour.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

2. 'Marine Mammals and Northern Cultures' by A. Kalland and F Sejersen, with contributions from H. Beyer Broch and M. Ris. ISBN 1-896445-26-8. ($CDN $35.00 – see website for specifics on shipping costs). Canadian Circumpolar Institute Press, University of Alberta, Edmonton. 349 pp.
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/polar//pdfs/CCIPress-Kalland-MMNCFlyer.pdf