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Science, not emotion, must influence whaling issue, says St Kitts official
Friday, April 28, 2006
BASSETERRE, St Kitts: The Senior Fisheries Officer in the St Kitts-Nevis Ministry of Agriculture says the stance of some countries and agencies with regard to the issue of whaling is based on emotion and not science.
Joe Simmonds explained that the conventions of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) states that scientific research must be used when determining factors.
“The convention clearly states that any decision that is made such as coming up with quotas ... must have a scientific basis,” he said. “The IWC is very polarized and there are those who are saying no whaling at all. It is normally based on emotions, such as we like to see whales, they are very intelligent. For fisheries management or any type of management of wild species we cannot and should not make decisions based on emotions.”
The senior fisheries officer explained that Caribbean countries share a concern about the issue of sustainable use of marine resources and look forward to the 58th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Simmonds stressed that food security forms an important part of the debate for regional countries.
“We are saying that the decisions must be scientific and (marine resources) must be utilized in a sustainable way,” he noted, adding that the use of other resources such as conch and lobster are being managed responsibly.
“Australia is (against whaling) but they have more food security than us so we have to really look out for our food security and ensure that we look at the issue from a scientific standpoint.”
The 58th IWC conference is slated for June in St. Kitts and Nevis.
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