In Defence of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

The status, accomplishments and future of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary for Whales (SOSW), established by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1994, are to be reviewed by the Commission at its Annual Meeting in Sorrento, Italy, in July 2004. The arguments on which the 1994 decision was based were given in the proposal submitted by the Government of France, further observations provided by other co-sponsoring Member States, and in the Plenary debate preceding the decisive vote (See Rep. Int.Whal. Commn 45, 1995)