Sanctuaries Established under the International Whaling Commission

A South Pacific Sector Sanctuary was immediately put in place and was in force under the IWC from 1949 to 1955.

The IWC currently recognizes two sanctuaries, the Indian Ocean Sanctuary and the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.

Two other sanctuary areas are currently under consideration by the IWC, one in the South Pacific, the other in the South Atlantic. Both of them are extremely important for the protection of migratory whale species in their entire range.
 
Indian Ocean Sanctuary
In 1979, the IWC declared the Indian Ocean (north of 55 degrees south) a sanctuary for whales. The sanctuary, which has already been reviewed twice by the IWC, is up for review at the May 2002 IWC meeting in Japan. A three-quarters majority is needed to overturn its designation.

Though many populations of whales in the Indian Ocean were devastated by commercial whaling, most survive and the Sanctuary provides a long-term opportunity for their eventual recovery. 
 
Southern Ocean Sanctuary
In 1994, the IWC designated as a whale sanctuary, on a French initiative, almost the entire Southern Ocean northward to 40 degrees south.

This sanctuary covers all waters surrounding Antarctica and protects three-quarters of the world’s whales in their feeding grounds. Japan alone has a standing objection to the creation of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary (SOS) and continues to take hundreds of minke whales from the sanctuary every year.

The major objective of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary is to protect some populations of Southern Hemisphere whales throughout their migratory ranges and life cycles -- and to contribute to the restoration and protection of the unique and fragile Antarctic marine ecosystem.

The Southern and Indian Ocean Sanctuaries are connected, therefore the SOS affords protection to the Indian Ocean’s whales as they migrate south to feed in Antarctic waters.

The Southern Ocean Sanctuary will be reviewed in 2004. 
 
South Pacific Ocean Sanctuary
Many of the whale populations that feed in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary migrate to the Pacific Ocean each year to mate and give birth to their calves.

The commercial hunting of whales began in this region at the end of the 18th century, with British vessels taking sperm and southern right whales. Commercial whaling continues in this area today with Japanese whalers taking Bryde’s whales as part of their "scientific research" program.

At the height of commercial whaling, whaling vessels hunted along the whales’ migratory routes from the Antarctic to the South Pacific; shore stations based in Australia and New Zealand harvested tens of thousands of whales; and subsistence whalers took mother-and-calf pairs from their breeding grounds adjacent to the Pacific islands.

Due to this intensive hunting, the populations of most of the great whales in the region were so devastated that commercial whaling was abandoned. Populations of many species in the vast region -- for example, the blue whale and southern right whale -- were driven to the edge of extinction.

In 2000, at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the governments of Australia and New Zealand proposed designating the Pacific Ocean south of the equator and north of the boundary of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, as a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary.

This proposal was also considered by the IWC in 2001 and 2002 but, because of lobbying by Japan for each of the three occasions, it did not receive the required three-quarters majority. The proposal -- which received simple majorities both times -- was co-sponsored by the USA and the UK, and enjoys strong support among other South Pacific nations.

South Pacific island-nations have historically had deep ties, both economically and culturally, to the ocean and marine species. The proposed sanctuary provides a great opportunity for these countries to take advantage of new, more sustainable ways of generating livelihoods for their people, such as whale watching, which has already become very important to the economies of many of these countries.

The proposed South Pacific Sanctuary would complement the existing Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean sanctuaries. It is adjacent to the Southern Ocean Sanctuary and would safeguard the breeding grounds and migratory paths of whales already protected in their Antarctic feeding grounds.

Great whale populations in the South Pacific are still seriously depleted, so the proposed sanctuary is essential to achieving the goals of the IWC and enhancing the original purpose of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary: to protect these populations and allow for their recovery.

South Atlantic Sanctuary
A logical further step in the preservation of Southern Hemisphere whale populations would be to protect migrating whales in the South Atlantic Ocean.

To this end, the South Atlantic Sanctuary, covering an area south of the equator to 40 degrees south, between South America and Africa, was proposed by Brazil and co-sponsored by Argentina at the 2001 IWC meeting.

Despite strong support from other South American and West African nations and winning a majority of votes, the sanctuary proposal failed to get the required three-quarters majority. Brazil again proposed the establishment of the South Atlantic Sanctuary at the May 2002 IWC meeting but the proposal met the same fate due to continued lobbying from Japan.

The South Atlantic is an important whale conservation area because it is bordered exclusively by developing nations, many of them former whaling countries. The sanctuary would provide these nations with valuable tourism, scientific research and cultural revival opportunities without the destabilizing influence of pro-whaling forces.

In addition, collaborative, international scientific studies of whales could be promoted and expanded if the sanctuary were established.