New Zealand has renewed pleas at the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) for Japan to lift its threat to hunt
humpback whales in the Antarctic.
A two-year deal negotiated by the IWC in 2007 for Japan to
suspend its hunt for up to 50 humpbacks lapses this year.
New Zealand IWC commissioner Sir Geoffrey Palmer told the IWC
annual meeting in Portugal this week new evidence about the
endangered status of humpbacks in the South Pacific had
strengthened the case for a permanent ban, the Sydney
Morning Herald reported.
While some humpback stocks were thriving, Sir Geoffrey said
it was impossible to know whether Japanese harpoons would
strike these whales, or the highly depleted Oceania stock.
He said New Zealand wanted to "respectfully urge" Japan to
remove them from its Antarctic target list permanently.
Japanese representatives at the meeting refused to comment on
the humpback quota.
