[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 78 (Thursday, June 13, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5543-S5544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 285--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONDEMNING 
 THE FAILURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION TO RECOGNIZE THE 
                        NEEDS OF ALASKAN ESKIMOS

  Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. Stevens) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 285

       Whereas the International Whaling Commission was founded in 
     1946 under the International Convention for the Regulation of 
     Whaling, with the purpose of providing for the proper 
     conservation of whale stocks in order to make possible the 
     orderly development of the whaling industry;
       Whereas the Commission has explicitly recognized aboriginal 
     subsistence whaling as separate from commercial whaling and 
     has in the past provided quotas for aboriginal subsistence 
     whaling participants from Denmark, the Russian Federation, 
     St. Vincent and The Grenadines and the United States;
       Whereas the Commission has failed to renew the aboriginal 
     subsistence whaling which previously was designated for 
     Alaska Eskimo whalers;
       Whereas the Commission's failure to reauthorize quotas for 
     aboriginal subsistence whaling was orchestrated by nations 
     disgruntled by the United States position in opposition to 
     the resumption of commercial whaling and determined to 
     retaliate against legitimate United States interests in 
     aboriginal subsistence whaling;
       Whereas aboriginal subsistence whaling has been a mainstay 
     of the culture and livelihood of the Inuit people of Alaska 
     for thousands of years;
       Whereas whaling by the Inupiat people of northern Alaska 
     brings significant benefits to every member of the successful 
     villages, where whale meat is shared among all residents;
       Whereas the Inupiat people of Alaska have consistently 
     followed responsible management practices in carrying out 
     their whaling activities;
       Whereas the Inupiat people of Alaska have embraced the goal 
     of whale conservation and participated heavily in whale 
     research and monitoring that demonstrates that their 
     subsistence whaling has no adverse effect on the population 
     of bowhead whales, their preferred species: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the failure of the Commission to renew aboriginal 
     whaling quotas is inconsistent with the understandings on 
     which the Commission is based, and jeopardizes the continued 
     existence of the Commission as a meaningful international 
     body; and
       (2) regardless of any current or subsequent action of the 
     Commission, the United States government should take all 
     steps necessary to ensure the continuance of scientifically 
     sound aboriginal subsistence whaling by the Inupiat people of 
     Alaska.

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I rise to offer a sense of the Senate 
resolution condemning the International Whaling Commission's recent 
vote against renewing quotas for aboriginal subsistence whaling by 
Alaska's Inuit people.
  I have always respected both the goals and the processes of the 
International Whaling Commission, but my support has been badly eroded 
by recent events.

[[Page S5544]]

  The Inupiat people of northern Alaska have engaged in environmentally 
responsible whaling practices for thousands of years, with no 
international supervision. They were forced to stand and watch as the 
great whales were decimated.
  Alaska's Inupiat people responded positively to the conservation 
goals of the International Commission, forming their own organization, 
the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, which has participated 
wholeheartedly in International Commission meetings. The Alaska 
Commission has also put significant assets and effort toward research 
and monitoring that has proven conclusively that current Alaskan 
whaling poses no danger to the stocks of bowhead whales that are its 
target species.
  Whaling is more important to the communities of northern Alaska than 
most can possibly understand. It provides a critical element of their 
diet, a major staple for their survival. But beyond that, it is a 
custom that is deeply ingrained in the culture of the Inupiat people.
  Becoming a whaling captain is one of the greatest honors possible, 
and carries with it great responsibility. Whaling captains provide gear 
and supplies for their crews at significant cost, yet when a whale is 
taken, they receive no compensation other than the knowledge of a job 
well done, for which they are not even allowed to deduct their costs as 
charitable contributions. It is a job that is important not only to the 
whalers themselves, but to every resident of the whaling communities, 
where their catch is shared between young and old alike.
  But that long history and honorable practice suffered a serious blow 
at the recent International Whaling Commission meeting in Shimoneseki, 
Japan. Nations promoting the resumption of commercial whaling, led by 
Japan itself, engineered a vote to reject the proposed renewal of 
quotas for Eskimo whaling.
   It is clear from a statement released by the Japanese Fisheries 
Agency on May 24 that this action was taken solely to retaliate against 
the United States for our opposition to the resumption of commercial 
whaling, specifically our rejection of a small quota of Minke whales 
for four coastal villages. There is a word for such an action, and that 
word is ``spiteful.''
  This is not the way international negotiations should be conducted.
  Alaska's aboriginal whaling has nothing to do with commercial 
whaling, and everything to do with honoring a way of life that has come 
to be synonymous with survival for Alaska's Inupiat people.
  It is not that I lack sympathy for the Japanese people, or the long 
history of whaling that is part of the culture of those four Japanese 
coastal villages. I happen to believe that history also should be 
honored, and I hope that an agreeable solution to the current dilemma 
will be developed in the near future.
  Nor can I suggest that this development was a complete surprise. 
Japan has long sought the resumption of commercial whaling, which is, 
in fact, the stated purpose of the International Whaling Commission. It 
has long warned that some form of retaliation might result from our 
continued opposition in the face of scientific evidence that some whale 
populations, such as the Minke whales sought by the coastal villages, 
have fully recovered and could support the resumption of whaling.
  Japan complains that the U.S. is being ``unfair.'' How could anything 
be more unfair than the action Japan has orchestrated against Alaska's 
Inupiat people?
  I repeat, that this is not how international negotiations should be 
conducted. Targeting Alaska's Inupiat whaling is not justified and can 
only serve to further alienate even those who might be sympathetic to 
the Japanese villages.
  The resolution I am introducing today condemns this unwarranted 
development, and calls on U.S. authorities to do everything in their 
power to ensure that aboriginal subsistence whaling in Alaska is 
allowed to continue under the same carefully crafted and scientifically 
justified system that currently guides it. I understand the various 
executive branch agencies with an interest in this issue are already 
engaged in doing just that, and they deserve our enthusiastic support.

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