Whaling embargo hopes on Kiribati

Kiribati is being urged to support whale conservation after joining the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

It is the second Pacific nation to have joined the IWC in the past year, following its neighbour, Tuvalu, which joined last June.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says the move by Kiribati has come at a significant time for the future of whales.

IFAW Asia Pacific marine campaigner Darren Kindleysides said the IWC of 57 member states was in the middle of negotiating a deal that could lead to the resumption of commercial whaling this year.

"The number of countries for and against is finely balanced. One new country joining on either side could mean the difference between no whaling and a full-blown commercial whale hunt."

Mr Kindleysides said there was a real threat that for the first time in the IWC's recent history the number of pro-whaling countries would outnumber those opposed.

"We implore Kiribati to vote for whale conservation, not whale exploitation."

He said Tuvalu had joined just in time to attend the annual meeting of the IWC in Italy last July.

"At that meeting, Tuvalu voted with the pro-whaling nations and against the conservation of the world's whales. Tuvalu became the first South Pacific country to vote against setting up a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary."

Mr Kindleysides said the Government of Kiribati had made commitments to whale conservation through various Pacific regional agreements including supporting the establishment of a South Pacific whale sanctuary.

"Many throughout the region will be watching Kiribati's voting at the next IWC meeting in Korea in June 2005 carefully."

The IWC banned commercial whaling in 1986 but approved restricted hauls by Japan a year later for research purposes.

Norway rejected the ban and Iceland resumed research whaling in 2003 after a 14-year hiatus.

At the IWC meeting in Italy, a New Zealand resolution was adopted by a 29-22 vote that methods of slaughtering whales did not guarantee death without pain and called for research into humane alternatives.

New Zealand also sought to create a South Pacific whale sanctuary but did not win the required majority.