Whaling: MPs call for 'diplomatic pressure' on South Korea
The coalition and the Greens have called on the government to pressure South Korea to abandon plans to resume whaling.
South Korea's plan to begin scientific whaling has been roundly condemned by the coalition and the Australian Greens, who want strong diplomatic pressure applied.
Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt says the move is a complete surprise and a deep disappointment.
"The world is moving away from whaling, this is a practice of the past," Mr Hunt told ABC television on Thursday.
"We would roundly reject this and I think this is an area where there could be very strong bipartisan support in Australia to oppose the push for a renewal of whaling by South Korea."
Mr Hunt said he was confident Australia could work together with the South Koreans to discourage them from resuming the practice of whaling.
"I would hope that the Australian government is talking with the South Koreans today," he said.
"There should be no delay.
"There should be no half messages, what we need is complete clarity that this is an unacceptable practice and it's a negative step."
Kang Joon-Suk, the South Korean delegate to an International Whaling Commission (IWC) gathering in Panama, told the secretariat the government was considering conducting whaling for scientific research.
The government had conducted non-lethal sighting surveys of the whale population to assess the status of the stock in its waters but it alone could not identify the different whale stocks, he said.
The minke whale population had recovered since a whaling moratorium began, he said.
"As a result, fishermen in this area are consistently calling for limited whaling," he said.
"This is because they are experiencing disturbances in their fishing activities due to frequent occurrences of cetaceans in their fishing grounds and an increasing number of minke whales are eating away large amount of fish stocks which should be consumed by human being (sic)."
Dr Kang did not provide numbers, areas or a timeline for scientific whaling. But other delegates said they expected South Korea would target minke whales in the Sea of Japan, which Koreans call the East Sea.
The IWC has imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986 amid fears for the survival of the ocean giants.
But it appears South Korea will join Japan in exploiting a loophole that allows the killing of whales for scientific research.
South Korean delegates said they would submit future whaling plans to a scientific committee of the global body but were not looking for approval by other nations.
The announcement triggered criticism by delegates from Australia, New Zealand and other anti-whaling nations that have long been infuriated by Japan's whaling expeditions in Antarctic waters.
Another South Korean delegate, Park Jeong-Seok, said his country would submit its plans "in the spirit of trust, good faith and transparency" but stressed: "We are under no obligation to inform you in advance.
"As a responsible member of the commission, we do not accept any such categorical, absolute proposition that whales should not be killed or caught," he said.
"This is not a forum for moral debate. This is a forum for legal debate," Park said of the Western criticism.
"Such kind of moral preaching is not relevant or appropriate in this forum."
South Korea carried out scientific whaling for one season after the 1986 moratorium went into effect. Whale meat remains popular in the coastal town of Ulsan, which serves remains of whales "accidentally" caught in nets.
Kang Joon-Suk, the South Korean delegate to an International Whaling Commission (IWC) gathering in Panama, told the secretariat the government was considering conducting whaling for scientific research.
The government had conducted non-lethal sighting surveys of the whale population to assess the status of the stock in its waters but it alone could not identify the different whale stocks, he said.
The minke whale population had recovered since a whaling moratorium began, he said.
"As a result, fishermen in this area are consistently calling for limited whaling," he said.
"This is because they are experiencing disturbances in their fishing activities due to frequent occurrences of cetaceans in their fishing grounds and an increasing number of minke whales are eating away large amount of fish stocks which should be consumed by human being (sic)."
Dr Kang did not provide numbers, areas or a timeline for scientific whaling. But other delegates said they expected South Korea would target minke whales in the Sea of Japan, which Koreans call the East Sea.
The IWC has imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986 amid fears for the survival of the ocean giants.
But it appears South Korea will join Japan in exploiting a loophole that allows the killing of whales for scientific research.
South Korean delegates said they would submit future whaling plans to a scientific committee of the global body but were not looking for approval by other nations.
The announcement triggered criticism by delegates from Australia, New Zealand and other anti-whaling nations that have long been infuriated by Japan's whaling expeditions in Antarctic waters.
Another South Korean delegate, Park Jeong-Seok, said his country would submit its plans "in the spirit of trust, good faith and transparency" but stressed: "We are under no obligation to inform you in advance.
"As a responsible member of the commission, we do not accept any such categorical, absolute proposition that whales should not be killed or caught," he said.
"This is not a forum for moral debate. This is a forum for legal debate," Park said of the Western criticism.
"Such kind of moral preaching is not relevant or appropriate in this forum."
South Korea carried out scientific whaling for one season after the 1986 moratorium went into effect. Whale meat remains popular in the coastal town of Ulsan, which serves remains of whales "accidentally" caught in nets.
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