The government of Brazil has declared its 5,000 mile coastline a cetacean sanctuary. The declaration is a major advancement towards the goal of creating an ocean-wide South Atlantic Sanctuary for whales and dolphins. The Brazilian government is engaged in negotiations at the International Whaling Commission to make whale-watching a legitimate management option. Currently, there is controversy among member nations because a few countries such as Japan, Iceland and Norway refuse to give up commercial whaling operations through loopholes or in defiance of the international moratorium on commercial hunting. South American countries have repeatedly failed to establish the South Atlantic Sanctuary at the IWC because of opposition by nations that want to continue commercial hunting traditions. Brazil joins Chile in creating a cetacean sanctuary in its territorial waters. Chile declared its 3400 mile long territorial waters off limits to lethal use of cetaceans in September.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Brazil Declares Whale Sanctuary
The government of Brazil has declared its 5,000 mile coastline a cetacean sanctuary. The declaration is a major advancement towards the goal of creating an ocean-wide South Atlantic Sanctuary for whales and dolphins. The Brazilian government is engaged in negotiations at the International Whaling Commission to make whale-watching a legitimate management option. Currently, there is controversy among member nations because a few countries such as Japan, Iceland and Norway refuse to give up commercial whaling operations through loopholes or in defiance of the international moratorium on commercial hunting. South American countries have repeatedly failed to establish the South Atlantic Sanctuary at the IWC because of opposition by nations that want to continue commercial hunting traditions. Brazil joins Chile in creating a cetacean sanctuary in its territorial waters. Chile declared its 3400 mile long territorial waters off limits to lethal use of cetaceans in September.