April 22, 2010

Commerce Department Principal Deputy Under Secretary and U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, Monica Medina, today released the following statement about the IWC Chair’s proposal for the Future of the IWC:

“The United States affirms its support of the commercial whaling moratorium and will oppose any proposal that would lift the moratorium. When the moratorium on commercial whaling began in 1986, it had an immediate beneficial impact. Over time, however, loopholes in the rules allowed more and more commercial hunting. To date, 35,000 whales have been hunted and killed since the moratorium began. We appreciate the efforts made by the Chair and Vice Chair to seek a resolution to longstanding issues facing the International Whaling Commission. The United States will carefully review the proposal put forward by the Chair and the Vice Chair.”