[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 99 Introduced in Senate (IS)]



109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 99

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the policy of the United 
    States at the 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling 
                              Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 12, 2006

Ms. Snowe (for herself, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Kerry, Mrs. Dole, Mrs. Boxer, 
Mr. Feingold, Mr. Reed, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. McCain, Mr. Leiberman, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Levin, 
  Mr. Biden, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Jeffords, Ms. Landrieu, and Mr. Kennedy) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the policy of the United 
    States at the 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling 
                              Commission.

    Whereas whales have very low reproductive rates, making many 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 in 2003 the Commission established a Conservation 
            Committee, open to all members of the Commission, for the 
            purpose of facilitating efficient and effective 
            coordination and development of conservation 
            recommendations and activities, which are fully consistent 
            with the conservation objectives stated in the 1946 
            Convention;
    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 rights of indigenous people to whale for subsistence 
            purposes has been specifically recognized under the 1946 
            Convention;
    Whereas the Commission has designated the Indian Ocean and part of 
            the ocean 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 two member nations that lodged objections to the 
            Commission's moratorium on commercial whaling when it was 
            adopted continue to hold such objections, a third member 
            nation asserted a reservation to the moratorium on 
            rejoining the Commission, 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 one member nation is conducting unnecessary lethal 
            scientific whaling in the Atlantic;
    Whereas whale meat and blubber is being sold commercially from 
            whales killed pursuant to such unnecessary lethal 
            scientific whaling, further undermining the moratorium on 
            commercial whaling;
    Whereas the Commission 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 more than 9,150 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, and a new program would take minke, Bryde's, sei, 
            fin, humpback, and sperm whales;
    Whereas, one member nation is harvesting whales on an unprecedented 
            scale in the name of scientific research, and plans to take 
            up to 935 minke whales, 50 humpback whales, and 50 fin 
            whales in the Antarctic, and 220 minke whales, 50 Bryde's 
            whales, 100 sei whales and 10 sperm whales in the North 
            Pacific. Sei, sperm, humpback, and fin whales are all 
            endangered species;
    Whereas engaging in commercial whaling under reservation and lethal 
            scientific whaling undermines the conservation program of 
            the Commission;
    Whereas discussions are taking place within the Commission on a 
            Revised Management Scheme (RMS) that would regulate any 
            possible future commercial whaling;
    Whereas any decision to lift the moratorium against commercial 
            whaling, or to allow commercial whaling in any other form, 
            must be taken independently from negotiations and adoption 
            of an RMS;
    Whereas any RMS must include or be conditioned on the concurrent 
            adoption of provisions similar to those in other 
            international agreements related to fisheries and marine 
            mammals, including transparent and neutral observer 
            mechanisms, and effective compliance and dispute settlement 
            mechanisms;
    Whereas to be effective, if an RMS is adopted, any future 
            commercial whaling must take place pursuant to the RMS, and 
            without reservation to any of its substantive provisions; 
            and
    Whereas any decision to lift the moratorium against commercial 
            whaling must be conditioned on the immediate cessation of 
            lethal scientific whaling: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring) 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) at the 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling 
        Commission the United States should--
                    (A) remain firmly opposed to commercial whaling and 
                any linking of adoption of a Revised Management Scheme 
                (RMS) to the lifting of the commercial whaling 
                moratorium or allowing commercial whaling in any other 
                form;-
                    (B) initiate and support efforts to ensure that all 
                activities conducted under reservations to the 
                Commission's moratorium or sanctuaries are ceased;-
                    (C) seek to ensure that any RMS includes, or is 
                conditioned on the concurrent adoption of provisions 
                similar to those in other international agreements 
                related to fisheries and marine mammals, including 
                transparent and neutral observer mechanisms, and 
                effective compliance and dispute settlement 
                mechanisms;-
                    (D) insist that any future commercial whaling must 
                take place pursuant to the RMS without reservations to 
                any of its substantive provisions, and that lethal 
                scientific whaling must immediately cease upon the 
                commencement of any commercial whaling;
                    (E) uphold the rights of indigenous people to whale 
                for subsistence purposes, and firmly reject any 
                attempts to compromise such rights or to equate 
                commercial whaling with such rights;-
                    (F) initiate or support efforts to end the lethal 
                taking of whales 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;-
                    (G) support proposals for the permanent protection 
                of whale populations through the establishment of whale 
                sanctuaries and other zones of protection in which 
                commercial whaling is prohibited;-
                    (H) support efforts to expand data collection on 
                whale populations, monitor and reduce whale bycatch and 
                other incidental impacts, and otherwise expand whale 
                conservation efforts;-
                    (I) support the adoption of an active program of 
                work by the Conservation Committee to address the full 
                range of threats to whales, and otherwise expand whale 
                conservation efforts;-
                    (J) call upon the Contracting Parties to the 
                Convention to submit to the Commission for discussion 
                within the Conservation Committee national approaches, 
                including laws, regulations and other initiatives, that 
                further the conservation of cetaceans; and
            (2) the United States should make full use of all 
        appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, Federal law, relevant 
        international laws and agreements, and other appropriate 
        mechanisms to implement the goals set forth in paragraph (1).
                               <all>D23/