The world's whalers have held their largest and most diverse gathering ever to assert their right to use whale resources sustainably, and in keeping with their traditions and cultures. 

From March 2-6 in Victoria, British Columbia, users of whales and other cetaceans from eighteen countries convened for the first General Assembly of the World Council of Whalers. They issued a challenge to the international community to recognize the vital roles which whaling plays in providing food security, nutrition and cultural identity, and the right of whaling communities to trade in whale products and thereby participate in the global cash-based economy. 

Specifically, they pledged support for the aspirations of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nations of British Columbia, Iceland, and four coastal whaling communities in Japan to exercise their right to sustainably use whales. 

The meeting was attended by more than 100 people. Joining the whalers were sympathetic observers from non-whaling countries committed to community-based management as a conservation and development tool, and to preserving the world's rich variety of cultures and  traditions. 

"A battle has been raging to decide who will manage the world's renewable natural resources, and the people who live with those resources — whose very survival depends on managing them wisely — are losing," said Tom Mexsis Happynook, Chairman of the Council and Head Whaling Chief of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation in British Columbia. 

"Since time immemorial, each of our communities has been honored and duty-bound to serve as the custodians of nature," said Chief Mexsis. "Indeed, it is this responsibility which has shaped our cultures and traditions and defined us as people. Yet there are powerful forces who would take this responsibility from us, and dictate how we should lead 
our lives. The time has come to make a stand, and assert the right of all communities to manage their resources in accordance with proven and traditional practices." 

Over the course of the meeting, deliberations focused on projectionist campaigns and government policies that have threatened indigenous cultures from New Zealand to the Arctic. Particular attention was paid to decisions of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and how these are manipulated by organizations opposed in principle to whaling, regardless of how it is managed or of the consequences for whaling communities. 

The IWC banned commercial whaling in the late 1980's, and currently allows only "aboriginal subsistence" whaling under a strict regime which requires that all products be consumed locally and there is no trading of products for cash. No longer in control of their own resources, whaling communities have found it ever harder to satisfy their cultural, 
religious and dietary needs, and in many cases have experienced severe socio-economic distress. 

The Assembly believed that this suffering was not only unjustifiable in conservation terms, but also resulted from decisions that breached several legally binding international conventions. Among these was the IWC's own convention, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which requires it to base its decisions on science, and to 
"take account of the interests of the consumers of whale products and the whaling industry". 

To address such concerns the World Council of Whalers was established in February 1997, opening a Secretariat on the land of the traditional whaling peoples of the Nuu Chah Nulth Nations in Port Alberni, British Columbia. 

"Whalers need a global organization in order to feel the strength and encouragement that comes from unity," said Chief Mexsis. This organization should strive to counter "the oppressive misinformation" campaigns waged by Western protectionists to ban consumption of even the most abundant whale stocks. 

"We must remember, however, that the majority of people are not fools," he continued, "nor are they full of ill-will toward other people they do not even know. They just need to be better informed about our circumstances, about our responsible attitudes toward nature and natural resources, and our willingness to work with them to exercise appropriate stewardship over those resources." 

The first General Assembly was attended by participants from the following countries in which cetaceans are currently being utilized or where there is strong interest in resuming traditional uses: Antigua & Barbuda, Canada, Dominica, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, 
St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Tonga, and the United States. 

For further information contact:
World Council of Whalers
PO Box 291, Brentwood Bay
B.C. V8M 1R3, Canada
e-mail: wcw@island.net
www.worldcouncilofwhalers.com