South Pacific Whale Sanctuary
Encyclopedia
The South Pacific Whale Sanctuary (SPWS) was a proposed region of the South Pacific Ocean
in which whaling
would be prohibited.
The establishment of a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary by the International Whaling Commission
has been a major goal of New Zealand
foreign policy. The proposed sanctuary would have created protected waters covering 12 million square kilometres, stretching from the Equator
to the Southern Ocean
and from Australia's east coast to between Pitcairn Island and Easter Island
.
The proposal was rejected at the 52nd annual International Whaling Commission meeting 3-6 July 2000 in Adelaide
, Australia
. Japan had campaigned against the proposal.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in which whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
would be prohibited.
The establishment of a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary by the International Whaling Commission
International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
has been a major goal of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
foreign policy. The proposed sanctuary would have created protected waters covering 12 million square kilometres, stretching from the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
to the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
and from Australia's east coast to between Pitcairn Island and Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
.
The proposal was rejected at the 52nd annual International Whaling Commission meeting 3-6 July 2000 in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Japan had campaigned against the proposal.