Japan, Norway and Iceland demand to expand the hunt, oppose the decision and threaten to withdraw from the discussions

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Berlin. The annual conference of the "International Whaling Commission" (IWC), in which 50 countries are members, opened yesterday in the shadow of threats of confiscation of Japan, one of the leaders in whaling. Japan, where hundreds of whales are killed every year, has announced that if a decision is made to strengthen the protection of whales, it may withdraw from the committee.
The current conflict between the countries that support whaling - Japan, Norway and Iceland - and the countries that oppose it, broke out around the proposal to establish a committee that would be in charge of the "interests of nature conservation". The proposal, known as the "Berlin Initiative", calls for cooperation with conservation organizations to improve the protection of marine mammals, with the planned committee supposed to deal with various threats to them: climate changes, pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, collisions with ships and killing by humans.
At the end of a long debate, the Berlin initiative was accepted, with a majority of 25 against 20 against and five abstaining. Among the supporters were the USA, Mexico, Great Britain, Australia and Germany.
Critics of the initiative claim that the goals of the planned committee are moving away from the traditional role of the IWC, the belief in the management of the whale population with an economic emphasis. According to Rona Provik from the Norwegian delegation, "This is another nail in the coffin of the committee. It actually deviates from its original goals. We will encourage the countries that support hunting to organize outside the committee." Iceland joined the Japanese threat to withdraw from the conference, which is supposed to close the day after tomorrow, and all three supporters of the continuation of the hunt made it clear that they will consider whether to participate in the financing of the Berlin initiative.
Animal conservation organizations claimed yesterday that the initiative is the most decisive step taken by the commission in favor of the whales, since the ban on their commercial hunting in 1986. Since the 19th century, millions of whales have been destroyed by commercial hunting, and a significant part of the hunt was stopped following the commission's ban. The countries in favor of increased conservation claim that some species of whales are still in danger of extinction, and therefore the initiative is essential for their survival. On the other hand, Japan and other countries that support hunting claim that the existing protection in the 1986 ban is sufficient.
Norway ignores the previous ban, and Japan, in a controversial move, received permission to hunt about 700 whales a year for research purposes. The Tokyo government says the hunt helps it assess the impact of whale schools on fishing grounds and learn about their migration and breeding patterns. Critics see this arrangement as "whaling in disguise," as the meat of the hunted whales is sold to wholesalers and ends up in restaurants in Japan, where it is considered a delicacy.
International efforts to protect whales 1946
- An international convention designed to regulate whaling (ICRW) is signed in Washington
-1948 The International Whaling Commission (ICRW) is established to ensure that the treaty is implemented
-1972 The UN conference adopts a resolution to ban commercial hunting
-1982 The Commission adopts the decision to ban hunting from 1986
-1987 Japan and the USSR stop commercial hunting in Antarctica; Japan starts hunting for research
-1994 The International Commission creates the whale reserve in the South Pacific Ocean; Japan begins hunting for research purposes in the North Ocean
Fishing nets kill 800 whales and dolphins a day
By: Walla system!
Fishnet. The mammals cannot escape from them (archive photo: Reuters) British-American study: every year 300 thousand marine mammals die entangled in nets; Concern: certain species are consequently in danger of extinction; Animal welfare organizations offer alternative fishing methods
The fishing nets in the world cause the death of about 800 whales and dolphins every day - this is how American and British researchers estimate. The study carried out at "Duke" University in the USA states that each year the nets cause the death of about 300 thousand large marine mammals and are the main factor endangering their survival.
The nets, deployed to catch food fish, catch the mammals that die from drowning or fall prey to sharks. The researchers explain that there are effective ways to reduce the alarming phenomenon. This is actually the first study that provides a true estimate of the number of victims caused by fishing nets among the marine mammal population and seals of their various species.
Advertisement The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says that the nets, which are thousands of kilometers long, cause the most significant danger to the existence of large marine mammals every day. Sometimes the nets are almost invisible or undetectable by the mammals' sonar. Most fishermen use nets that are too strong for mammals to escape from.
One of the authors of the study estimated that if nothing is done to prevent the phenomenon, the fishing nets will cause the extinction of several species of whales and dolphins in the coming decades. A British researcher told the BBC that an acoustic device connected to the net could keep the large mammals away from it. Another method is to convince the fishermen to use alternative fishing methods, instead of the traditional nets.
He tried to free a whale from a net - and was killed by the blow of his tail
A New Zealand resident asked to release a large whale caught in a fishing net; When he tried to cut the rope from his tail, the whale struck him violently; After hours of searching, he was not located, and the police estimate that he was killed
A New Zealand resident who tried to free a large whale caught in a fishing net was apparently killed after being hit by the whale's tail.
The 38-year-old man went to help the whale, 15 meters long, which was caught on the beach of the city of Kaikoura, 140 km south of the capital city of Wellington. "He tried to cut the rope from the whale's tail, but the whale lifted its tail and hit him," said a local police officer. Boats and a helicopter that went out to look for the man found no sign after four hours, and the police estimate that he was killed.
Several species of whales are attracted to the deep, food-rich waters off the coast of Kaikoura, which is considered a popular tourist town. Ships depart from the city where you can watch whales of various species and dolphins.
They know endangered animals
For news at the BBC
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