Seán Haughey
Question:77 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Finance the progress that has been made in support of the establishment of whale sanctuaries throughout the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Whale Sanctuaries.
In relation to the proposal to designate a whale sanctuary in all the waters of the Southern Hemisphere south of latitude 40 degrees South, in accordance with Government policy, I instructed our delegate to the 1993 conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to second a proposal by France for such a sanctuary. I am glad to report that the same delegate attended a meeting of the IWC last week to consider this proposal. Some progress was made clarifying outstanding legal, ecological and geographical aspects of the proposal which will come up for decision at the next conference of the IWC in May where this country will jointly propose the sanctuary with France and other like-minded countries.
Apart from the Southern Hemisphere proposal, the only other sanctuary established under the auspices of the IWC is the Indian Ocean Sanctuary. The Government actively supports the proposal for an EU-wide sanctuary and other member states are being approached seeking their support for such a proposal.
Apart from this country, which declared all its seas a whale and dolphin sanctuary in 1991, I am aware of whale sanctuaries in the Ligurian Sea and in the Caribbean (Silver Strands) and last year I supported a proposal for a sanctuary for whales and small cetaceans by Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.