Most species of whale are doing so well for themselves today in terms of population recovery that they no longer need help from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) – and that organisation should vote to disband itself.
That’s the view of Peter Bridgewater, who was chair of the commission from 1994 to 1997. The IWC’s residual responsibilities could easily be handled by CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species), he stated in the Observer towards the end of August.
Most whale populations had been increasing since the IWC declared its landmark moratorium on hunting from 1985, he said, with particular success stories including humpbacks, blues and minkes. Only the northern right whale population remained depleted, though this was as a result of factors other than hunting.
Ship-strikes, pollution and climate change were now the main threats to cetaceans, said Bridgewater, meaning that the IWC had, “like so many other international conventions or organisations”, outlived its useful life.
“You have done your job,” was his message to the commission. “It’s been really good work. You have got a result. Now it is time to hang up things and go with dignity.’”
Setting an example
In a joint article in Nature, Bridgewater and other prominent conservationists recently suggested that the IWC could pass any outstanding issues on to other conventions or national governments at its 69th meeting in Peru in September before voting itself out of existence.
This would provide a valuable example for what the group say are the thousands of “superfluous “zombie” international environmental organisations that are hindering or diluting efforts to bring about meaningful change by contributing to an accumulation of unnecessary layers of bureaucracy and expenditure.
Today only Norway, Iceland and Japan flout the international moratorium by carrying out industrial whaling in their home waters, and although their catches are relatively small by historic standards the IWC has proved ineffective in stopping this trade, argues Bridgewater.
The IWC has in return contended that over the years it has evolved to tackle a wide range of cetacean issues beyond hunting, including entanglement, bycatch, ship-strikes, strandings and marine debris, and that vital whale population assessments are carried out by its scientific committee.
Also read: Blue Whales Making a Come Back, Fin whale protection hopes dashed in Iceland, Blue whales are going their own ways, ‘This is huge’ – world’s rarest whale washes ashore
