| |
|
| BIGGEST SURPRISE |
The absence of IWC Chairman Henrik Fischer through illness. His place
was taken by U.S. Commissioner Rollie Schmitten. |
|
|
| BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT |
Fischer's RMS proposal which could break the management system deadlock
and save the IWC |
|
|
| MOST LUDICROUS CLAIM |
New Zealand Conservation Minister's statement on the abundance of minke
whales: "Every whale species got down to less than five per cent of
what it was a hundred years ago." During the last hundred years the
Antarctic minke whale population has increased from 80,000 to 760,000. |
|
|
| MOST MISSED COMMISSIONER |
Norway and Mexico both had new Commissioners. Their predecessors were
notable contributors for many years, for many different reasons. |
|
|
| MOST OFFENSIVE ALLEGATION |
IFAW's claim that Caribbean nations' votes were bought by Japanese
oversea aid. Greenpeace, WWF and HSUS jumped on the bandwagon too. No
evidence was provided and the claims relied on innuendo. |
|
|
| MOST TIRESOME SPEAKER |
New Zealand's didactic Commissioner Sir Geoffrey Palmer. Blah blah blah. |
|
|
| MOST SUCCESSFUL TACTIC |
The United States plan to research its bowhead stock structure, thereby
delaying any tough decisions on its quota for years. |
|
|
| MOST OBVIOUS PR SPIN |
WWF's objections to Fischer's RMS document were repeated verbatim by
several anti-whaling delegations. |
