UK reiterates its opposition to commercial
whaling
DEFRA
The UK today asked Norway to end its program of lethal whaling
activities.
The UK Government, together with those of 11 other countries,
has made a formal diplomatic representation to the Norwegian
Government, urging it to stop its commercial whaling programme.
The formal written statement, or demarche, was presented
to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 20th April
2006 by the British Charge d'Affaires in Oslo on behalf of
the UK, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, The
Czech Republic, France, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand,
and Spain.
The delivery of the demarche was timed to take place soon
after the beginning of the new Norwegian whaling season on
the 1st April.
At the end of 2005, the Norwegian Government announced a
record increase in the number of North Atlantic minke whales
they plan to take this year, up from 796 to 1052.
UK Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw said: "Any announcement
of an increase in the 2006 quota is premature and not based
upon the best scientific advice. It is disappointing that
the Norwegian government are putting pressure on their scientists
to justify the wide scale destruction of this species.
"The UK and many other countries remain strongly
opposed to Norway's existing and unnecessary lethal whaling
activities, and we urge Norway to stop them.
"We shall continue to register our disapproval of
all these whaling activities, which undermine the moratorium
on commercial whaling, which has been operational since 1986."
The Norwegian Government's decision in respect of the whaling
quota for 2006 breaks further new ground in extending the
area of whaling operations outside Norway's Exclusive Economic
Zone into international waters.
Norway has based the increase to its self awarded quota on
its independent modifications to the International Whaling
Commission's (IWC) Revised Management Procedure (RMP) (a scientifically
rigorous method of determining catch limits for any future
whaling). The basis for this modification has not been put
before the IWC's Scientific Committee for evaluation and cannot
in any case be evaluated until the Committee meets in May
2006.
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