AVARUA, Rarotonga, Cook Islands (27 Sep 2001) -- The Cook Islands government has formally declared a whale sanctuary throughout the Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The sanctuary covers two million square kilometres of the central South Pacific Ocean and is believed to be the largest whale sanctuary yet declared by an individual government in waters under its jurisdiction. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Robert Woonton said yesterday the declaration was in line with the Marine Resource Act 1989 which did not allow fishing for marine mammals. "The new whale sanctuary is within the spirit of that act." Dr Woonton said the declaration of the sanctuary was a reflection of the high esteem in which whales are held by many Polynesian peoples. "We have lived peacefully alongside whales for many centuries," he 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. "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. "In establishing the Cook Islands Whale Sanctuary, we hope to encourage our friends and neighbours in the South Pacific to take similar actions." © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
