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Delegation introduces whaling legislation
With International Whaling Commission subsistence bowhead whaling catch limits due to expire at the end of 2012, the Alaska Congressional delegation has introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to ensure continuity of the limits after the end of the year. The legislation will require the U.S. Department of Commerce to set U.S. catch limits for Native whale hunters from 11 Alaska communities, the Alaska delegation said in a June 5 release.
The United States is seeking renewal of catch limits by the International Whaling Commission, or IWC, through the years 2013 to 2018, but because of political disagreements over some other issues the IWC may not make a decision on the whale quotas at its upcoming annual meeting at the beginning of July in Panama, the Alaska delegation said.
1947 treaty governs A 1947 international treaty, implemented in the U.S. by the Whaling Convention Act, requires the U.S. to set whaling limits if the IWC does not do so itself.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich and co-sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, would streamline the U.S. process for issuing catch limits; ensure that U.S. limits are sustainable in terms of the bowhead whale stock; and require the U.S. to continue to press the IWC to set the limits.
“We thank the delegation for introducing this legislation. The bills send an important message to the members of the IWC,” said Johnny Aiken, executive director of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission in a June 5 statement. “It puts them on notice that the United States will ensure our subsistence hunting continues if the IWC doesn’t act on our quota request.”
—Alan Bailey
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