ENVIRONMENTALISTS WORLDWIDE MUST feel a sense of relief and achievement that a proposal to lift the ban on hunting of whales for commerce was defeated at the annual conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) held recently in Sorrento, Italy. Some countries led by Japan have been pressing for a relaxation of the ban on commercial whaling and this year's conference witnessed the IWC Chairman, Henrik Fischer, putting forward the extraordinary proposal to allow whaling under a quota system. A `yes' vote would have, in effect, ended the 18-year-old ban on commercial whaling and paved the way for largescale slaughter of some species like the Minke, coveted for their meat in Japan and some other countries. The anti-whaling nations were surprised by the supportive position adopted by the United States towards the quota proposal that envisaged a supervised and phased introduction of whaling; the U.S. has explained subsequently that it continues to oppose commercial whaling in principle but would like to see safeguards in place if the ban is to be relaxed. Among the whaling nations, Norway does not recognise the international convention, while Iceland and Japan kill whales in the name of science. Concern for the future of whales is mounting as economic interests have begun to dominate policymaking; at this year's conclave, several smaller countries were ready to vote in favour of resumed whaling at the instance of prosperous donor nations.
Pressure on whales from various activities is increasing and at its conference the IWC came up with fresh evidence that points to the role of military sonar in confusing the sophisticated communication system used by some species to navigate, with deadly consequences. The hypothesis, the scientific committee of IWC reports, was proved during joint naval exercises by Japan and the U.S. off Hawaii a few weeks ago when a melon-headed whale died in a `stampede' of 200 whales towards shallow water, which was apparently caused by sonar interference. If more evidence of the negative impact of mid-frequency sonar emerges, restrictions on their use would become unavoidable. Oil exploration presents another growing threat to whales in habitats such as Russia's Pacific coast off Sakhalin Island, which is home to a small number of highly endangered western gray whales. At Sorrento, the IWC strongly urged the oil companies to suspend exploration in this ecologically fragile zone to enable the whale population to recover.
Closer home, although a variety of whales and dolphins have been spotted off India's long coastline over centuries, the absence of an apex plan to study marine mammals in their habitat has deprived scientists of exhaustive data. It is also an irony that much of the recorded knowledge on cetaceans in the Indian Ocean, which since 1979 has been an IWC sanctuary stretching to 55 degrees South latitude, is derived from beached and stranded specimens in this country rather than field studies. The reprieve won by the whales at Sorrento should provide a fresh impetus to research on these marine species and practical measures to ease pressure on their habitat from commercial activity. These would be natural priorities for the upcoming National Institute of Marine Biodiversity, which can hope to enlist the support of the scientific committee of the IWC in such an endeavour. India must also voice its opposition to the hunting of whales in the name of scientific research, as there is plenty of evidence to show that these animals belonging to species enjoying protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species are sold to the meat industry. Non-lethal research methods are more rewarding and sustainable, a message the IWC hopes the delegates will carry home to policymakers.