The United States will host the 2007 annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Anchorage, AK, on May 28-31, 2007.
As current Chair of the IWC, NOAA's Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, Dr. William T. Hogarth is preparing for intense discussions at this year's meeting. A critical focus of this year's meeting will be review of the US subsistence hunting quotas of the Western Arctic bowhead whale and grey whale.
Ten Alaska Native villages in the far north conduct subsistence bowhead whale hunts overseen by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission and NOAA Fisheries. Also under consideration this year are aboriginal whaling quotas for the eastern population of the North Pacific grey whale by the Makah Indian Tribe.
The US government supports aboriginal subsistence whaling, and believes the quotas should be favourably reviewed. In addition, the US will strongly support the establishment of whale sanctuaries in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The design of these sanctuaries would include the banning commercial whaling within their boundaries, should commercial whaling resume.
Annual meetings of the IWC are usually attended by about 400-600 people, including government delegates from over 70 countries, observers from non-member governments, other intergovernmental organisations, and non-government organisations, as well as news media representatives.
Following the meeting, additional information on the outcome of negotiations will be available online at www.iwcoffice.org.
