Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission the United States should remain firmly opposed to commercial whaling, and take other specified related steps; (2) at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the United States should oppose all efforts to reopen international trade in whale meat or to downlist any whale population; and (3) the United States should make full use of all appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant international laws and agreements, and other appropriate mechanisms to implement these goals.
Urges the United States to take appropriate steps to convince foreign countries whose nationals are engaging in trade in whale meat or a taking which diminishes the effectiveness of the Convention to cease such trade or taking.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 216 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 216
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the policy of the United
States at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling
Commission.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2003
Mr. Delahunt (for himself, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. George Miller of
California, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Farr, Mr. Greenwood, Mr.
Allen, and Mr. Abercrombie) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the policy of the United
States at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling
Commission.
Whereas whales have very low reproductive rates, making whale populations
extremely vulnerable to pressure from commercial whaling;
Whereas whales migrate throughout the world's oceans and international
cooperation is required to successfully conserve and protect whale
stocks;
Whereas in 1946 a significant number of the nations of the world adopted the
International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which
established the International Whaling Commission to provide for the
proper conservation of whale stocks;
Whereas the Commission adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 in
order to conserve and promote the recovery of whale stocks, many of
which had been hunted to near extinction by the commercial whaling
industry;
Whereas the Commission has designated the Indian Ocean and the ocean waters
around Antarctica as whale sanctuaries to further enhance the recovery
of whale stocks;
Whereas many nations of the world have designated waters under their
jurisdiction as whale sanctuaries where commercial whaling is
prohibited, and additional regional whale sanctuaries have been proposed
by nations that are members of the Commission;
Whereas one nation has joined the Commission under questionable authority and
claims it has a reservation to the moratorium that is not recognized by
all other Commission members;
Whereas two member nations currently have reservations to the Commission's
moratorium on commercial whaling, and one member nation is currently
conducting commercial whaling operations in spite of the moratorium and
the protests of other nations;
Whereas the Commission has adopted several resolutions at recent meetings asking
member nations to halt commercial whaling activities conducted under
reservation to the moratorium and to refrain from issuing special
permits for research involving the killing of whales;
Whereas one member nation of the Commission has taken a reservation to the
Commission's Southern Ocean Sanctuary and also continues to conduct
unnecessary lethal scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean and in the
North Pacific Ocean;
Whereas whale meat and blubber are being sold commercially from whales killed
pursuant to such unnecessary lethal scientific whaling, further
undermining the moratorium on commercial whaling;
Whereas the Commission's Scientific Committee has repeatedly expressed serious
concerns about the scientific need for such lethal research and
recognizes the importance of demonstrating and expanding the use of non-
lethal scientific research methods;
Whereas one member nation in the past unsuccessfully sought an exemption
allowing commercial whaling of up to 50 minke whales, now uses a
scientific permit for these same vessels to take 50 minke whales, and
continues to seek avenues to allow lethal takes of whales by vessels
from specific communities in a manner that would undermine the
moratorium on commercial whaling;
Whereas more than 7,500 whales have been killed in lethal scientific whaling
programs since the adoption of the commercial whaling moratorium and the
lethal take of whales under scientific permits has increased both in
quantity and species, with species now including minke, Bryde's, sei,
and sperm whales, and a new proposal has been offered to include fin
whales for the first time;
Whereas the first international trade of whale meat in 15 years occurred last
year between two member countries, and other member countries have
stated their intentions to engage in international trade of whale
products, despite a ban on such trade under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species; and
Whereas engaging in commercial whaling under reservation and lethal scientific
whaling undermines the conservation program of the Commission: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling
Commission the United States should--
(A) remain firmly opposed to commercial whaling;
(B) initiate and support efforts to ensure that all
activities conducted under reservations to the
Commission's moratorium or sanctuaries are ceased;
(C) not recognize the reservation to the moratorium
against commercial whaling claimed by one nation that
has joined the Commission under questionable authority;
(D) oppose the lethal taking of whales for
scientific purposes unless such lethal taking is
specifically authorized by the Scientific Committee of
the Commission to be necessary for scientific purposes,
seek support for expanding the use of non-lethal
research methods, and seek to end the sale of whale
meat and blubber from whales killed for unnecessary
lethal scientific research;
(E) seek the Commission's support for specific
efforts by member nations to end trade in whale meat;
(F) support the permanent protection of whale
populations through the establishment of whale
sanctuaries in which commercial whaling is prohibited;
and
(G) support efforts to expand data collection on
whale populations, monitor and reduce whale bycatch and
other incidental impacts, create a Conservation
Committee, and otherwise expand whale conservation
efforts;
(2) at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species, the United States
should oppose all efforts to reopen international trade in
whale meat or downlist any whale population;
(3) the United States should make full use of all
appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant international laws
and agreements, and other appropriate mechanisms to implement
the goals set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(4) if the Secretary of Commerce certifies to the
President, under section 8(a)(2) of the Fishermen's Protective
Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)(2)), that nationals of a foreign
country are engaging in trade or a taking which diminishes the
effectiveness of the Convention, then the United States should
take appropriate steps at its disposal pursuant to Federal law
to convince such foreign country to cease such trade or taking.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
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