Whale of a problem
All whale species are listed in Appendix I of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), which prohibits import, export and transit of all whales and their products. Since CITES is a legal body and not the IWC, CITES creates a major stumbling block to international whale blubber trade. Conservationists believe that this restriction is a logical extension of ban on commercial whaling. Japan proposed to downlist Minke whale from Appendix I to Appendix II to resume trade in the 11th Conference of Parties (CoP) of CITES held in Nairobi, 2000. But it was rejected by a majority of members. "Without a proper management regime in place at the IWC, CITES may downlist the Minkes at its 2002 meeting,' says Gordon Shephard of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
In the 10th CoP, held in Harare in 1997, a draft resolution was submitted by Japan to redefine CITES' relationship with the IWC. Japan suggested CITES inclusion of species in the list could have been done independently without following the recommendation of IWC. Canada, Norway and other whaling countries supported this view.
Though none of the regulations of the IWC are binding on any nation, USA has two domestic laws that gives it the authority to impose sanctions on nations that violate the policies and objectives of the ICRW. They are the Pelly Amendment, 1971, and Packwood-Magnnson Amendment, 1979.