The Acting Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority has outlined Liberia’s position for the sustainable use of marine resources, particularly whales, as opposed to the conservation of whales.
Whales are large marine mammals, members of the “cetacean order,” and they also includes dolphins and porpoises. Some of them are said to have teeth while others have baleen.
According to the group, extremefishing.org, “whales can be spotted diving into the 30mile deep ocean that lies just 15km off Monrovia’s coast. Dolphins are far too smart to bite our bait, but they often help us.”
NaFAA’s Acting Director General, Augustine M. Manoballah indicated that the Liberia’s position to support the sustainable consumption of whales at the just-ended 67th session of the International Whaling Commission was informed by Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), an NaFAA press release said in Monrovia on Tuesday.
NaFAA’s Acting Director General Augustine M. Manoballah
Goal 14 of the SDG requires all to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Although the ban on commercial whaling remains enforced by the IWC, DDGA Manoballah stated that the Scientific Committee has been mandated to develop a reasonable quota for Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling countries.
He said the international community has a longstanding policy of allowing certain indigenous peoples to hunt otherwise protected whales to satisfy aboriginal subsistence needs.
The Acting Director General, who is also Deputy Director General for Administration of NaFAA, further specified that the sustainable utilization of marine resources is key towards achieving food security, the world over.
Mr. Manoballah said Liberia was among several other African countries including Ghana, Togo, Benin, Kenya, among others that strongly supported the Japan’s resolution to lift the temporary ban on commercial whaling.
However, the Florianopolis Declaration, which was introduced by host Brazil as well as Argentina, Colombia, et al, witnessed the Japanese proposal for the return of commercial whaling loosing out, with 41 votes against 27.
According to www.uk.whales: “The biggest recorded blue whale was a female in the Antarctic Ocean that was 30.5 m long (more than 3.5 times the length of a double-decker bus and as long as a Boeing 737 plane) with an estimated weight of 144 tonnes (almost the same as 2,000 men). The tongue alone of a blue whale can weigh as much as an elephant and an entire football team could stand on it!”
