III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. CON. RES. 86 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 3, 2008 Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mrs. Boxer) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States, through the International Whaling Commission, should use all appropriate measures to end commercial whaling in all of its forms and seek to strengthen measures to conserve whale species.

Whereas 78 countries have adopted the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, signed at Washington December 2, 1946 (TIAS 1849) (in this preamble referred to as the Convention), which established the International Whaling Commission (in this preamble referred to as the Commission) to provide for the conservation of whale stocks; Whereas the Commission has adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling in order to conserve and promote the recovery of whale stocks, many of which had been hunted to near extinction by the whaling industry; Whereas the United States was instrumental in the adoption of the moratorium and has led international efforts to address the threat posed by commercial whaling for more than 3 decades; Whereas, despite the moratorium, 3 countries that are parties to the Convention continue to kill whales for financial gain, disregarding the protests of other parties; Whereas those 3 countries have killed more than 25,000 whales since the moratorium entered into force, including more than 11,000 whales killed under the guise of scientific research; Whereas whaling conducted for scientific purposes has been found to be unnecessary by the majority of the world’s cetacean scientists because nonlethal research alternatives exist; Whereas the parties to the Convention have adopted numerous resolutions opposing and calling for an end to so-called scientific whaling, most recently in 2007 at the annual Commission meeting in Anchorage, Alaska; Whereas commercial whaling in any form, including special permit whaling and any coastal or community-based whaling, undermines the conservation mandate of the Convention and impairs the Commission’s ability to function effectively; Whereas all coastal whaling is commercial, unless conducted under the aboriginal exemption to the moratorium on commercial whaling; and Whereas the majority of the people of the United States oppose the killing of whales for commercial purposes and expect the United States to use all available means to end such killing: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that the United States, through the International Whaling Commission, should— (1)use all appropriate measures to end commercial whaling in any form, including so-called scientific whaling; (2)oppose any initiative that would result in any new, Commission-sanctioned coastal or community-based whale hunting, even if the whale hunting is portrayed as noncommercial and including any commercial whaling by coastal communities that does not qualify as aboriginal subsistence whaling; and (3)seek to strengthen conservation and management measures to facilitate the conservation of whale species.