By Sharon N. Simon
(Antigua Observer) – Eleven local environmental groups have written to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, requesting that the government abandon its support for lifting the global ban on commercial whaling ahead of a key international meeting in September.
The letter, sent on 24 July, was coordinated by a coalition whose member organisations, including Greenpeace, represent more than five million people. A separate letter signed by 22 international conservation organisations, including Switzerland-based OceanCare, was sent to Browne the same week.
The appeals came ahead of a 30 July deadline for countries to submit resolutions to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which holds its 70th meeting in Hobart, Australia, from 27 September to 2 October. Antigua and Barbuda introduced resolutions aimed at lifting the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling at each of the IWC’s last two meetings. Neither passed, but the country’s representative pledged in 2024 to try again at the Hobart meeting.
The push is backed by new survey data. A poll of 508 residents, conducted by CoreConsult Inc. for the Ocean Trust between 26 May and 3 June, found that 64 per cent of Antiguans and Barbudans oppose commercial whaling, while 68 per cent were unaware their government supports lifting the ban at the IWC.
Sixty per cent said they opposed the country submitting a resolution that could lead to whaling’s resumption, and 62 per cent said the position could damage the country’s international reputation.
The timing is sensitive. Antigua and Barbuda is to host the Caribbean Blue Economy Summit in October and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, both bringing global attention to the twin-island nation.
