Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

NZ joins diplomatic protest at Iceland's whaling

Hon Chris Carter
Minister of Conservation

2 November 2006 Media Statement

NZ joins diplomatic protest against Iceland's whaling


New Zealand has joined a diplomatic protest by 25 countries and the European Commission expressing extreme disappointment at Iceland's resumption of commercial whaling in its waters, Conservation Minister Chris Carter announced today.

New Zealand was part of a formal statement or demarche that was delivered to Iceland in the nation's capital, Reykjavik, yesterday. Those participating in the demarche called on Iceland to reconsider its position, respect the internationally agreed global moratorium on whaling and halt its commercial whaling operations.

Iceland resumed commercial whaling last week and has already killed fin whales, one of the largest whale species. It announced that it plans to take nine endangered fin whales and 30 common minke whales. These whales are in addition to the minke whales Iceland has been taking as part of its scientific whaling research since 2003.

“Iceland’s decision to resume commercial whaling despite the global moratorium is deplorable," said Mr Carter.

“Iceland was part of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) when the moratorium on commercial whaling came into effect in 1986 and did not lodge an objection at the time. It withdrew from the IWC in 1992 and rejoined in 2002 with a reservation against the moratorium. New Zealand does not accept the validity of Iceland’s reservation. New Zealand and 18 other countries registered a formal objection to the reservation when Iceland rejoined.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Mr Carter rejected Iceland’s claims that fin whales were sufficiently abundant to hunt.

“There’s no scientific consensus on fin whale numbers. The IWC’s scientific committee is currently reviewing the population status of fin whales. Iceland has gone ahead and set its own quota using criteria that have not been presented to or reviewed by the scientific committee”.

Mr Carter welcomed Iceland’s growing whale watching industry and highlighted the economic and social benefits from whale watching, adding that “a return to commercial whaling could undermine those benefits”.

Norway is the only other country that carries out commercial whaling. Japan takes whales as part of its “scientific” whaling programme.

The governments of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, together with the European Commission, all supported the formal diplomatic protest.


ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.