Posted 24th September 2001

Cook Islands Creates South Pacific Whale Sanctuary
(Photo shows Dr. Robert Woonton, the Cook Islands cabinet member responsible for foreign affairs, marine issues, and tourism)

The Cook Islands Government today announced that it has established a whale sanctuary throughout its Exclusive Economic Zone - an area that takes in roughly one percent of the entire Pacific Ocean. The unilateral action is a result of frustration that the South Pacific Island nations' proposal for a whale sanctuary was rejected for a second year by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at its annual meeting in July.

The new whale sanctuary is believed to be the largest yet declared by an individual government in waters under its jurisdiction. Sperm, humpback and southern right whales swim through the waters of the Cook Islands. Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Dr. Robert Woonton, said that the declaration of the sanctuary is a reflection of the high esteem in which whales are held by many Polynesian peoples. "We have lived peacefully alongside whales for many centuries," Woonton said. "But the devastation wrought by the commercial whaling fleets of the last century has left us with only a few animals now returning to their traditional South Pacific breeding grounds each winter. "For the past two years, Pacific Island nations have appealed to the International Whaling Commission to establish a whale sanctuary for our region, to secure the future for these leviathans, but we have been thwarted by the opposition of the whaling countries and their supporters," said Woonton.

Despite strong support from countries across the South Pacific, a hard core minority of whaling countries blocked the establishment of the protected area. The proposal, brought before the IWC by the governments of Australia and New Zealand, required a three-quarters majority of IWC members for passage. "If the nations of the South Pacific wish to protect the breeding grounds which are so critical to the recovery of our depleted whale populations, then clearly we shall have to take matters into our own hands. We owe it to the Earth to support their survival," the deputy prime minister said.

Dr. Woonton, the minister responsible for the Cook Islands marine resources, tourism and foreign affairs, hopes his government's decision will encourage other South Pacific island nations to take similar actions. "Together we can send a message to the whalers that their exploitation of our whales is now a thing of the past, and that the future lies in conservation. The Cook Islands may be a small country, but on this issue we believe that we are sowing a seed that many others will appreciate," he said.

In recent years, tourism has become the leading economic sector for the island nation. From a few hundred visitors in 1971, visitor arrivals grew to over 57,000 by 1994. The government hopes whale watchers will visit the islands in hopes of seeing one of the giant marine mammals. Dr. Woonton said, "We look forward to welcoming visitors from around the world who share our great conviction in assisting in the recovery of one of the wonders of the natural world." ...