Washington, DC, 30 May 2006:IWMC World Conservation Trust reaffirmed today that science is a prerequisite for the effective management of wildlife and warned that it must not be sacrificed or undermined at the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting, scheduled to take place 16-20 June in St. Kitts. IWMC is the world's leading international conservation group promoting the sustainable use of wildlife.

There are two important scientific elements to understanding whale populations. One is the completion of abundance estimates, which are used to set conservative catch quotas; the other is the collection and analysis of biological information that provides scientists with a broad view of the status of populations and the impact of whales on the marine ecosystem.

Research whaling was specifically included as an integral part of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to encourage nations to understand the biological status of the stocks they harvest. Historically, lethal research was carried out by several countries, including the United States, New Zealand and Japan. In the last twenty years, scientists have been able to make their most significant advances in knowledge about global whale stocks as a result of Japan's research programs and advances in science, such as the ability to collect and analyze DNA.

Japan recently completed a research harvest of 853 minke whales and 10 fin whales in the Antarctic. Scientists in many countries, including the USA, Japan and Australia, carry out non-lethal research.

Ironically, at a time when knowledge about whales has reached new levels, whale stocks are growing, and there is clear evidence that some whale species could have catch quotas safely assigned, some anti-whaling countries have asserted that lethal research is no longer necessary and should be prohibited. Some countries, led by the USA, have proposed phasing out research whaling as a possible trade off to pave the way for commercial whaling to resume.

The truth is that science is a necessary component of sound wildlife management practices, whether it is for fisheries or other animals such as bears, deer or kangaroos. By understanding the make-up of populations, scientists can determine the robustness of stocks, the impact the animals are having on their habitat and what levels of culling or harvesting are required or can be sustained.

In the case of whales, conservationists should ask not whether lethal research should be carried out but whether it is being done in numbers that do not threaten the stocks themselves. All of the species being harvested in Japan's scientific research program are being taken at levels well below reproductive rates and therefore present no impediment to overall stocks.

Eugene Lapointe, President of IWMC, said: "Countries that oppose whaling are preparing to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Science should not be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations at the IWC. Research harvests were written into the whaling convention specifically to encourage understanding about whale stocks and to ensure that catches would be sustainable. The replacement of sound science with a system of enforced ignorance would be appalling."

The IWC has already accounted for research whaling in its catch quota mechanism known as the Revised Management Procedure (RMP).

For more information and interviews, contact Eugène Lapointe
Tel/Fax: +1(727) 734-4949 - USA
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or email: iwmc@iwmc.org