Founder of Niuean conservationist group Oma Taufa, Alana Fiafia Richmond-Rex calls on fellow Pacific Islands to help save the whales. (Photo by Josephine Latu.)

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Josephine Latu.

‘Island tradition’ to conserve whales, say Pacific conservationists

Pacific conservationists took a stand on the commercial whaling debate at a special awards event held at the Auckland museum on the weekend, saying it was “part of their culture” to conserve the marine mammals.

The 10th annual South Pacific Whale Research Consortium (SPWRC) awards hosted by Tongan Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu Tuita also celebrated the declaration of Tokelau’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as a whale sanctuary.

Tokelau is the 11th nation in the region to do so.

The event follows last month’s indication by New Zealand’s International Whaling Commissioner Sir Geoffrey Palmer that the government may support an international bid to legalize commercial whaling under a strict quota system (1,500 per year), set to gradually decrease over the next decade.

The announcement has since been slammed by conservation groups and environmental activists.

“My call is to New Zealand and New Zealanders to stand with Pacific people and respect whale sanctuaries in the Southern Ocean and say no to commercial whaling,” said Sue Miller Taei, from the SPRWC and the Pew Whale Conservation Node.

“We need to stand together.”

Taei was one of nine leading marine scientists and activists working in the region who spoke at the ceremony, ending a week-long series of meetings amongst SPWRC members focusing on humpback whale research and protection.

Presenters included Yuri Mikhalev, a Russian researcher who exposed the exploitative whale-hunting he witnessed while working on whaling factory ships in the 1960 and 1970’s, leading marine scholar Professor Scott Baker, Samoa-based Sue Miller Taei, and founder of Niue’s marine conservation organization Oma Tafua, Alana Fiafia Richmond-Rex, amongst others. Convener for the evening was Rawiri Paratene, who starred in theKiwi movie ‘Whale Rider’.

Eleven Pacific Island delegates were presented awards for leadership in whale conservation by Princess Pilolevu and Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, Georgina Te Heuheu.

Looking to the past, economic prospects

Tonga's Princess Pilolevu Tuita presents an award to Vanuatu's Minster of Agriculture and Fisheries, Steven Kalsakau. (Photo by Josephine Latu.)

Princess Pilolevu – Tonga’s Royal Patron of Whales – said that past traditions can lead to better environmental initiatives in the future, calling for the region to “share responsibility” in conserving shared marine resources.

Her father, the late King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, banned whale hunting in Tongan waters in 1978.

The local tourism industry has since looked to whale-watching as a lucrative business. Research by Massey University’s Mark Orams estimates Tonga’s whale-watching worth at USD$700,000 each year, with global figures exceeding USD$1 billion.

Orams claims national economies such as Tonga are threatened by dwindling numbers of whales due to hunting – 1,500 t0 3,000 whales are killed around the globe every year.

“Pacific Island people are paying for other people’s greed,” said Samoa-based Taei at the awards.

“They lose economic opportunities for tourism… because there are not enough whales to see.”

Te Heuheu also cited New Zealand’s successful ecotourism whale watching scheme in Kaikoura, run by Maori tribe, Ngai Tahu.

She added that “many legends tell of the positive relationship between people – iwi – and whales”.

Tokelau’s chief Foua Toloa said that traditionally, whales had provided navigational assistance to Pacific people.

“Saving them is part of our culture,” he said.

Vanuatu director of Fisheries, Robert Jimmy added that more research is needed to track whales and their activities. He said whales migrate to the Pacific to reproduce, although their numbers have dropped drastically.

“[Conservation] will require lots of effort from other countries because whales are migratory species. They are part of our ecosystem and we all have a traditional linkage to them, one way or another,” he said.

IWC compromise

However, International Whaling Commission (IWC) representative Sir Geoffrey Palmer said a compromise, to allow a limited number of whales to be killed each year, will result in more of them being saved in the long-term.

The government is considering endorsing a quota system to let commercial whalers take up to 1,500 whales per year. The proposal is a drastic change to the 1986 IWC moratorium, which has maintained a voluntary agreement amongst 89 member countries to refrain from any commercial whaling, although it does not apply to whaling “for scientific reasons” or sustainable indigenous practices.

Sir Geoffrey said the moratorium has been largely ineffective.

“The truth of the matter is, not all cultures or all nations see that issue the same way, and because of that you have to arrive at an international accommodation,” he told media last month.

The IWC will meet this June in Morocco, where they are expected to discuss any proposals regarding the moratorium.

Eleven Pacific nations and territories that have established whale sanctuaries within their ocean economic zones are, including Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tokelau, American Samoa and Vanuatu.

New Zealand and Tonga have legally banned whale-hunting in their economic zones but have not declared sanctuary areas.

Japan remains the biggest whaler in the Southern Ocean area.

Josephine Latu is a postgraduate communication studies student from Tonga at AUT University’s Pacific Media Centre who is also contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch.