Day Two began with unfortunate news that IWC Chair, Amadau Telivel Diallo of Guinea, will not be able to attend the meeting. Travel difficulties had delayed his arrival and these now prove impossible to resolve in the time available. Current Vice-Chair, Dr Nick Gales of Australia had already agreed to step-in at the last minute and start the meeting, and will continue as Acting Chair.

Dr Gales expressed disappointment that the Commission’s first French-speaking, west African chair would not be able to lead the meeting, but highlighted Mr Diallo’s contribution throughout his two-year chairmanship and the huge amount of work undertaken in preparation for this meeting.

Following yesterday’s successful renewal of quotas for Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling, the report of the Aboriginal Whaling sub-committee report was endorsed, with an additional agreement to facilitate discussion on use of the term aboriginal. The Acting Chair stressed that this sensitive discussion must be led by the wishes of the hunting communities to whom it applies, noting that different views had been expressed by different hunting communities. It was agreed that the outcome of this discussion would be reported to the next IWC meeting in two years’ time.

A series of new proposals were then presented and discussed. The first proposal for a Sanctuary in the South Atlantic requires an Amendment to the IWC legal framework known as the Schedule. This proposal has been the subject of wide-ranging debate over a number of years.

Five additional proposals were presented as Resolutions of the Commission: new work programmes that would not require a change to the IWC Schedule. Resolution topics range from the moratorium on commercial whaling to increasing collaboration and building synergies with other organisations.  Small drafting groups were established to refine each text or explore the scope to close more significant gaps where these exist. If consensus cannot be reached, proponents may choose to request votes later in the week.

The Finance and Administration Committee also concluded much of its work today in addition to opening budgetary discussions. The budget conversation will continue, as governments noted both the difficult global financial climate and the gap of almost £2M that has opened up after 10 years of inflation with no budget increases at IWC. The Commission was also presented with alternative approaches to address a Resolution on Marine Plastics, adopted at IWC68, two years ago. The options varied according to the urgency and extent of work to be undertaken, and will be re-visited later in the week.