Wednesday's proposals for two more whale sanctuaries were strongly criticized by IWC member states for failing to meet the organization's requirements for scientific justification. Neither proposal had the support of the Scientific Committee and both were promptly rejected.

Rather than accept the inadequacies of the proposals, which have now been submitted unsuccessfully four times, animal rights groups blamed "tactics used by Japan and its allies", claiming that the "wishes of the region had been ignored".

In its press statement, WWF admitted that it has been putting pressure on Pacific islands to support the South Pacific Sanctuary proposal, stating that it "works closely" with regional governments and organizations on whaling issues.

In June, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff announced an increase in educational support for the Solomon Islands during a regional tour and raised the question of that country's position on the sustainable utilization of whale resources. The Solomon Islands abstained in the vote on the South Pacific Sanctuary but opposed the South Atlantic proposal. New Zealand accuses Japan of using its overseas aid to put pressure on island states in the IWC, a charge that is vehemently denied.

None of the Pacific island states voted in favor of the sanctuaries, isolating Australia and New Zealand - who presented the first proposal - as the only regional states that supported them. Meanwhile, New Zealand's aggressive approach at Sorrento has angered many delegates.

Eugene Lapointe, President of IWMC, said: "The sanctuary proposals were defeated because they failed to meet the minimum requirements of the IWC. The environmentalist groups are deluding themselves by trying to find alternative reasons for the defeat of proposals that could not be scientifically justified."