St. Lucia votes in favour of hunting Whales

[coxswain]

Pro-whaling nations have won their first vote towards the resumption of commercial whaling for 20 years. The meeting of the International Whaling Commission backed the declaration by a majority of just one.

 

 

In Favour of the St Kitts Declaration = 33:

 

Antigua & Barbuda, Benin, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Denmark, Dominica,Gabon, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Kiribati, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Nauru, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Russian Federation, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines,Senegal, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Togo, Tuvalu

 

 

Being a cruiser - i'll not be spending any of my cash in these Caribbean countries and trust other members on here will take the time to consider their options.

 

 

 

Register your protest

 

admin@pm.gov.lc - Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

 

rgonsalves@mail.gov.vc - Prime Minister St. Vincent and The Grenadines

 

High Commission for Antigua and Barbuda

enquiries@antigua-barbuda.com - General Information

tourisminfo@antigua-barbuda.com - Tourism Information

 

 

Denmark - stm@stm.dk - The Prime Minister's Office

 

Solomon Islands - Prime Minister's and Cabinet - pspm@pmc.gov.sb

 

Government of Dominica mintour@cwdom.dm Ministry of Tourism

 

Gambia - info@statehouse.gm

 

Iceland - Prime Minister's Office postur@for.stjr.is

 

 

Norway - The Office of the Prime Minister - postmottak@smk.dep.no

 

Japan - Prime Minister of Japan - kanteihp-info@cas.go.jp

 

Cambodia- Royal Cabinet of His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk Royal Palace, Phnom Penh Email: cabinet@norodomsihanouk.info + ocm@cambodia.gov.kh Deputy Prime Minister

 

Mongolia - webmaster@pmis.gov.mn

 

korea - korea@korea-dpr.com

 

 

Get emailing and save the Whales + dolphins and porpoises

 

 

 

 

jj.......

[m steve]

this December will be my 3rd trip to Lucia and 1st to St. Kitts. I have emailed their tourist offices that we will be staying onboard when in port and will not spend any money on the island. I would be just as happy for the cruise lines to repalce these ports as a protestThose of us who have balcony cabins should hang signs protesting their vote.

[coxswain]

Steve thats a great idea - our cruise ship will be calling at St.Lucia + Antigua - we'll not be going ashore - and your idea of a banner is a great idea.

 

 

jj......

[cruzzers]

I was so afraid this would happen! When we were visiting those ports last cruise on the Sea Princess, we noticed an unusual amount of interest and money being pumped in by the Japanese setting up schools and colleges on those islands. They have fished out their own waters and are likely coming to set up camp in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean. Why else should they invest money in the poor islands?

 

One question I have to ask? Why in the world do we have to kill whales in this day and age?!!!! Are we reverting back to old ways of fishing that was proven to cause extention of several species and deplete the ocean of a very sensitive ecosystem? Do we ever learn from our mistakes? We will boycott those islands as well!

[coxswain]

Thats very interesting cruzzers - No some people/countries never learn until its to late - its like the old saying

 

You never miss the water till the well runs dry !!!

 

 

Hopefully we can rally round and prevent this happening - but we need the support of everyone. Imagine going on a cruise to Alaska to watch whales - then on another cruise you see whalers out hunting - it doesn't bare thinking about - but if we don't act now thats what is going to happen.

 

 

 

jj......

[T_Bird]

Very interesting thread. I traveled to St. Vincent, Grenada and St. Lucia this past March and met a school teacher, tourism and community activist in Grenada. He told us about the political pulls and pushes in those countries. It seems that Japan and China are in a race to get allegiance from those various Caribbean countries for pull in the UN. When I read the news about the whaling vote, it appears that Japan won/bought enough of those countries to get that vote passed.

I do not support nor condemn a boycott of those countries because of a whaling vote. After visiting them in March, I can understand why they took the money from those foreign countries. The area and spice industry is still decimated from last year’s hurricanes.

You may want to talk to or consider doing a tour in Grenada with Mandoo. A lot of his tour is devoted to the history, political climate and possible future of his country. He (obviously) does not support whaling but supports other means of industry and survival for his countrymen and is a fascinating character. His is a wonderful tour, highlighting ecology, history and politics. You will learn much about Grenada and the Leeward Islands while seeing all of the beauty of the island.

Have fun regardless of what you decide!

[coxswain]

T_Bird i do know about the economics of some of the Caribbean countries - and its up to us and our governments to help these countries. I for one in Europe buy Fair-Trade products which helps the local people.

 

Caribbean governments shouldn't be selling their votes for short term gains - So they gain a few million from japan, but then their tourism industry gets hit hard ( no-one wants to see Whales dolphins and porpoises being murdered and brought into port) - nobody on a cruise ship hopping from island to island wants to see a whaling ship out hunting in the caribbean !!!

 

 

We can all play our part by puting pressure on our governments to help these countries get a fairer share of the market around the world.

 

Hey i'd even paid HIGHER port charges ( cruise ships ) if it meant helping out.

 

 

"Have fun regardless of what you decide!"

 

 

 

Sorry i can't agree - i couldn't have fun on an island that has voted to murder these great creatures !!

 

 

 

jj......

[Lancastrian]

These people should be ashamed of themselves to accept 30 pieces of silver from the Japanese. Boycott the place till they see sense. It's a disgrace.

[T_Bird]

I apologize for the interpretation of my "Have fun..." comment. I meant on the cruise in general, not specific islands. I am certainly NOT in favor of whaling. I have grown up on the ocean and I would hate to see any of the wildlife or ecology of our oceans harmed.

The islands I visited in March were still DEVESTATED from the hurricanes (especially Grenada). I can understand that those countries were in very desperate need of money. I do not think desperation / devastation, running water, phone lines, schools, food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, etc is a good excuse for whaling (as there is no excuse/reason to continue that barbaric practice). I only meant that I could see that aid from foreign countries could be unbelievably tempting. It is unfortunate that these eastern countries were able to take great advantage of the southern Caribbean’s desperate situation.

[chrysalis]

I am not sure that boycotting any of these Islands is the route to go......these Islands are very reliant on tourists, and some businesses are reliant on the whales themselves. Support the whale-watching businesses and show that the whales are more important alive then as meat at the Japanese supermarket.

 

Don't take your anger and frustration out on the tourist operations of these Islands, please....you will be hurting the wrong people.

 

Some of our best excursion experiences have been whale-watching in the Caribbean. Let's not boycot these businesses into oblivion!

[hdcline]

My family and I were in St Lucia last year. The highlight of our trip was the whale watching and dolphin watch. I can tell you if the government of this island and any of the other islands hold fast on allowing whale hunting, my family and I would have no reason to return. I am sure my family and I are not the only ones who feel the same about this issue. We all need to voice our protests and if enough continues to put the pressure on they may come to their senses and see that this will cut off their main life line.

[m steve]

I had an email yesterday from the head of the tour guide assoc. and they are against their gov'ts vote. They feel it will hurt the tourism industry but the politicians had their hands out when Japan came to call. There is no whaling done from St. Lucia but does happen in St. Vincent.

Maybe we should find out who those guys were who took the money so we could set them up in our Congress, our lobbyists and see them get even richer. The population there is adamently against the whaling vote.

[TCF]

Shame on me! I was not even aware that this vote was taking place!:mad:

I have emailed the island governments where my wife and I are scheduled to visit on our Oceania Cruise next March. I advised them that we will not be getting off the ship to spend our money in their nations, and that we will encourage others to do the same. A day realxing on a luxury ship is not the worst thing that can happen to us!

While I understand the point being made by some that not to spend our money on these islands will harm the local tourist industry, and that many people on the islands are as adamantly opposed to the whale slaughter as we are; however, the governments they elected voted on their behalf to slaughter the whales. The only people who can change the government are the people who live there. A tourism boycott will help them accomplish that.

Further, I am e-mailing the CEO of the cruise line we are using and asking that his corporation protest the actions of these governments. We'll see what happens.

I fought this fight when I was 30 and thought we had won! Now at 58 I have to join in the same fight all over again! Damn! When will we ever learn!:mad:

Tom

[Kitster]

Some of our best excursion experiences have been whale-watching in the Caribbean. Let's not boycot these businesses into oblivion!

Not to cause a ruckus, but just what will you go to watch when the whales are gone ?????? Interesting food for thought.......and tastier than ambergris.