EDM 102 DAMAGE TO WHALES THROUGH POLLUTION 10.07.01 Hoyle/Lindsay . That this House notes the number of whales under risk from polluting adding to the threat of hunting; recognises that, with seven of the 13 species of great whale listed on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species as either endangered or vulnerable, all efforts should be made to control pesticides and chemicals dumped at sea, combined with further efforts to curb hunting for commercial and scientific purposes; expresses its concern at news that Iceland is set to resume whaling; and calls on the Government to do all it can to work with the International Whaling Commission to protect whales from pollution and to bring unnecessary hunting to an end. All signatures 58
EDM 181 JAPANESE TIED AID AND WHALING 18.07.01 Banks/Tony . That this House condemns without reservation the admission by the head of Japan's Fisheries Agency, Mr Maseyuku Komatsu, that Japan has been providing overseas aid in exchange for votes on the International Whaling Commission in order to secure a return to commercial whaling; believes that such practices are a corruption of process and should disqualify any countries in receipt of such tied aid from voting in the IWC; calls upon Her Majesty's Government to cease any aid provided to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and the Grenadines all of whom have sold their votes to the Japanese; draws attention to the statement made by Mr Komatsu in Australia that 'the minke whale is a cockroach in the ocean'; and believes such comments reveal the venal, arrogant and ethnocentric attitude of the Japanese towards both world opinion and the exploitation of animal resources. All signatures 36
EDM 184 JAPANESE AID AND WHALING 18.07.01 Hoyle/Lindsay . That this House notes with concern the statement made by Japanese Fisheries Minister Maseyuku Komatsu in relation to using overseas aid to influence other countries in the Caribbean and South Pacific to support their commercial whaling proposals; believes this is an abuse of much needed overseas aid, and a deliberate tactic to halt progress on a worldwide whaling ban; and calls on the Government to do all it can to ensure that this practice is not allowed to continue and work with the International Whaling Commission to ensure whaling is banned All signatures 52
EDM 617 JAPANESE WHALING1 9.12.01 Hoyle/Lindsay . That this House expresses its outrage at the whale hunting carried out by Japanese ships in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean; notes that the Southern Ocean is recognised as a no-go zone for hunters and that whaling is still banned under international law; recognises that the Japanese get round international law by claiming they are carrying out scientific research, even though it is widely known that the whalemeat will be sold for commercial purposes; further notes that the Japanese have been using overseas aid to enlist support from the Caribbean islands to support the legalisation of whaling; and calls on the British Government to do all it can at the forthcoming meeting of the International Whaling Commission to be held in Shiminoseki to highlight the disgraceful manner in which the Japanese are acting in relation to whaling and ensure that whale hunting is not legalised. All signatures 78
EDM 831 CETACEAN BYCATCH AND THE WESTERN MORNING NEWS 07.02.02 Sanders/Adrian . That this House congratulates the Western Morning News for highlighting the increasing numbers of dead dolphins and porpoises being washed up on the west country shoreline; notes that marine wildlife and fishing experts believe this to be a consequence of the activities of giant factory ships and pair trawlers that hoover up the seas bounty, capturing dolphins and other sea cetaceans that are unable to escape; further notes that the Cornish drift net fleet has honourably swallowed the bitter pill of a ban on its activities following claims of a much smaller share of cetacean by catch; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to seek an EU wide solution resulting in a ban on all pelagic fisheries which threaten the dolphin and other cetaceans with possible extinction from around our shores. All signatures 31
EDM 52CETACEAN BYCATCH AND THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 13.11.02 Sanders/Adrian. That this House recalls with horror that several hundred dead dolphins were washed up on West Country beaches during the winter and spring of 2002; notes that wildlife experts believe thousands more dolphins, porpoises and whales lost their lives as a consequence of the activities of pelagic trawlers that scoop up the seas' bounty, capturing the dolphins and other cetaceans that are unable to escape and thus suffer traumatic deaths; expects the carnage to resume during the winter and spring of 2003 unless action is taken; notes the recommendation of the scientific advisors to the European Commission that this needs to be addressed urgently and that observer programmes need to be 'fast tracked' on vessels from all EU member states active in the area; and therefore calls on Her Majesty's Government to place the issue of cetacean bycatch on the agenda of the next meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers to implement the above and to work with other EU member states to avoid another season of unnecessary slaughter of these protected species. All signatures 29
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