Plan to Legalize Commercial Whaling Would Cost US Taxpayers – United States to Subsidize Whaling Industry if Approved
WASHINGTON, June 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Washington, DC and London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today revealed that proposals to resume commercial whaling under the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will cost nearly 19 million dollars over the next decade. Estimated additional costs for the US during this time would be over $988,000 if costs were shared between member countries.
A document posted to the IWC’s website last week(1) outlined basic costs for setting up a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Scheme (MCSS) in the event that the IWC agrees to allow commercial whaling by Japan, Norway and Iceland to resume.
The cost of the scheme is estimated at $1,880,000 per year, with additional start-up costs of $250,000. This does not include surveys to gather vital data for the calculation of alleged “safe” catch limits. The proposal on whether to legalize whaling will be considered by IWC members in Agadir, Morocco, June 21-25.
“It’s certain that US citizens don’t want their tax dollars used to subsidize the killing of whales,” said EIA Campaign Biologist Samuel LaBudde, who added: “Financing whale hunts is not consistent with American interests and reason enough to reject the proposal to legalize Japan, Norway and Iceland’s commercial whaling.”
At present, total income paid by IWC members amounts to about $2,234,000, which contributes to the various costs associated with the operation of the IWC and its programs. The estimated cost for monitoring commercial whaling by just 3 of the 88 IWC members would almost double membership fees.
(1) IWC/62/10 www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/IWC62docs/62-10.pdf
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SOURCE Environmental Investigation Agency