Sea Life

JUNIOR WHALE CONFERENCE

JUNIOR WHALING CONFERENCE 2009

School children from nine schools across the UK took part in a ceremony in memory of more than 40,000 slaughtered whales at the start of a unique Junior Whale Conference today.

The event at the Alton Towers Resort sees 36 delegates aged 13 to 15 debate the controversial whaling industry. They include groups from a school in Edgeware, four Midlands schools and five from Scotland, including one party all the way from Islay in the Inner Hebrides.

The event started with a tour of new SEA LIFE attraction Sharkbait Reef and delegates then gathered around a pagoda style Japanese lantern shrine to reflect on the killing of over 40,000 whales since 1984...in spite of an international whaling ban agreed that year.

"Whales have continued to be killed for so-called scientific research, to make money and for subsistence reasons," said Mark Simmonds, senior scientific officer with the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society, which organised the Conference together with the SEA LIFE centre network.

"The choice of a Japanese shrine was deliberate, because Japan actually has a large Shinto shrine dedicated to the spirits of whales, and yet Japanese vessels account for 13,000 of those casualties in the last 25 years."

The death toll includes more than 430 Sperm, 600 Fin, 560 Sei, 2,500 Gray, 40 Humpback, 33,000 Minke, 1,000 Bowhead and 1,000 Brydes whales.

After presenting the results of their own research projects into different aspects of whaling and whale biology the young delegates are likely to find themselves cast in the roles of some of the key national delegations to the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC).

"We will have some of them consider the issue from the perspective of the pro-whaling nations such as Japan and Norway, as well as those that oppose a resumption of commercial whaling such as the UK and Australia," added Mark.

"When all the talking is done we will agree a resolution that the whole Conference will vote on."

"WDCS is represented at the IWC each year, and it may be that some of the arguments and views expressed by these youngsters will help us to develop our arguments and lend extra weight to what we do in that important forum," said Mark.

SEA LIFE and WDCS joined forces earlier this year to oppose moves for a return of legalised whaling. Visitors to the 31-strong global SEA LIFE network have signed more than  100,000 anti-whaling postcards which will be delivered to the EU next year.

The schools taking part are: King Edward V1 Five Ways School, Birmingham; Knightswood Secondary School, Glasgow; Coppice Performing Arts School, Wolverhampton; Alfreton Grange Arts College, Alfreton, Derbyshire; The London Academy, Edgeware;  Islay High School, Bowmore;  Notre Dame High School, Glasgow; Chryston High School, Muirhead; Forfar Academy, Forfar. 

To see a blog on the event visit http://www2.wdcs.org/blog/