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The
80-nation International Whaling Commission gathered here at its annual
meeting Monday with its very existence at stake amid tension over
Japan's perennial bid to resume commercial whale hunting.
The IWC has been divided between pro-whaling
nations led by Japan and Australia's anti-hunting faction since a
moratorium on commercial whale hunting was imposed 22 years ago.
The commission in 1986 imposed a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling, an agreement allowing a limited number of whales to be killed only for research purposes.
In
1992, the IWC relaxed the moratorium, allowing some commercial hunting
of mink whales. But in subsequent years Iceland and Norway have ignored
the ban and resumed commercial whaling.
On
the eve of the meeting, some 2,000 protesters gathered in a park here
in Chile's capital city, with the throng massing in the shape of a
giant whale to demonstrate their support for keeping the moratorium.
Environmental
groups including the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and
Greenpeace warned ahead of the meeting that Japan wanted to catch
whales in four of its coastal areas for non-scientific ends.
Japan was expected to press on with its efforts to resume commercial whaling.
The Japanese delegate
to the IWC, Joji Morishita, said his country wants to "resume, under
international control, sustainable whale hunting of abundant species."
"Many species and whale stocks are abundant, are growing and are recovering from past over-fishing," Morishita said.
After
the 1986 ban, however, the IWC relaxed the worldwide moratorium on
commercial whaling in 1992, and in 2006 it narrowly approved a
non-binding motion declaring that the moratorium "is no longer
necessary."
Perennial/noun/:
something that continues for many years هميشگي، دائمي، ابدي، جاوداني، پايا، همه ساله
Pro-whaling
/
noun/:
supporting of
whaling
طرفداران شكار نهنگ
Moratorium/noun/:
legally authorized delay in the payment of money due; abandonment of debtsمهلت قانوني، استمهال
Delegate/verb/:
authorize; appoint as representative نمايندگي دادن، وكالت دادن
Resume
/
verb/:
recommence, begin again; retake از سرگرفتن،دوباره بدست اوردن، باز يافتن
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