Bárbara Galletti and Vernazzani Muñoz

After the field season in Isla de Chiloe, I was attending the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and I just returned to Santiago de Chile.

We presented three scientific papers on blue whales that were welcomed by the scientific committee (SC) and raised concerns on the status of this population. Adittionally, we already develop whale watching guidelines for blue whales that were endorsed by the SC. Now we will start promoting its implementation in Isla de Chiloe and with national authorities.

We are really happy with the results achieved so far and seeing how te activities proposed for the 18 month period under the Innovation Award are progressively coming to its end.

Please find below another update of the Alfaguara Project, that complement the March 2007 Update and all previous reports. Additionally, I am attaching the three papers presented to IWC meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska during May 2007.

I am just returning from Isla de Chiloe very happy with the positive results. We presented to regional and local authorities and tourist operators the results of the penguin carrying capacity study and the recomendations for whale watching guidelines in the blue whale area. The tourist operators agreed to implement a voluntary code of conduct while the national tourist service(SENATUR) committed to advance in the development of a certification system.

Read about the progress to date in the interim report below.

Read about the activitites undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

Strong Message of Chile to Their President: We Want a Whale Sanctuary Now

Recent poll suggests 97 percent of Chileans support whale sanctuary

Environmental groups are applauding this week’s promise by President Michelle Bachelet to covert Chile’s entire coastline – one of the longest in the world – into a whale sanctuary.

“We’re very content with the president’s announcement because this will create a government policy that favors whale conservation,” Bárbara Galletti, president of the Center for Cetacean Conservation (CCC), told the Patagonia Times. “It’s something that’s lacking right now. We need a legal framework that supports our long-term work with these animals.”

“This is a huge stop forward in terms of marine conservation,” she added. “For the first time the country, which has focused exclusively on extracting (marine resources), is putting forth a vision that involves taking advantage of its resources through conservation strategies, such as eco-tourism.”

The CCC is an environmental NGO committed to protecting the numerous species of whales and dolphins that occupy Chilean waters.

Bachelet made the announcement Wednesday as part of her annual May 21 State of the Nation speech. During next month’s annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), she promised, “Chile will condemn the capture and killing of whales for scientific purposes.” The IWC gathering, to be held in Santiago, will take place throughout the month of June.

“Furthermore, we will send Congress a bill declaring Chile off limits for whale hunting,” said Bachelet.

The whale sanctuary plan was first proposed last year by the National Confederation of Chilean Artisan Fishermen (CONAPACH), which partnered with the CCC and Ecoceanos, a Santiago-based environmental NGO, in lobbying Chilean government authorities. A law already in place outlaws whaling through 2025. CONAPACH’s Whale Sanctuary for Chile proposal would extend that law indefinitely.

In recent months the initiative has received almost universal backing, with the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and even the Navy throwing their weight behind it. Some 120 environmental groups around the planet also support the proposed sanctuary. A recent Adimark poll, furthermore, suggests that an overwhelming 97 percent of Chileans back the idea.

“This is a huge triumph for the people of Chile and a strong international signal by the host country of the International Whaling Commission gathering,” said Ecoceanos Director Juan Carlos Cárdenas. “This demonstrates the effectiveness of the combined effort by environmentalist and artisan fishers, who in demanding the creation of a sanctuary were able to attract the support of 97 percent of the Chlean public.”

According to Cárdenas, nearly 50 percent of the world’s whale species pass through Chilean waters on a regular basis. Every year, furthermore, Chile hosts a sizeable population of blue whales, which come to feed and reproduce off the northern coast of Chiloé. Nearly hunted to extinction during the last century, blue whales – the world’s largest creatures – are still very much endangered.

By Benjamin Witte ( benwitte@santiagotimes.cl This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Written by Benjamin Witte
Thursday, 22 May 2008

Read about the success of their campaign in the link to the ENS News Report or press releases below.

Barbara says 'I am very excited about the results of our campaign to declare Chilean waters as whale sanctuary. This will certainly benefits cetacean conservation in Chile since the project of law signed by President Bachelet not only consolidate a policy on non lethal use of cetaceans by banning permanently all whaling activities but also includes articles to enforce whale watching regulation and protect critical habitats for cetacean species, among others (the legal framework that we lacked). Thus this will directly benefit blue whales conservation in Chiloe as well as all cetacean species in Chile'.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2008/2008-09-11-02.asp

'We are very excited about the possibilities this law will bring to marine conservation in Chile since it is certainly the most important achievement on nature conservation in the country.

The law is for all cetcean species register in chilean waters (43) so it is applicable from whales, to dolphins, sperm whales, zifios and porpoises and its marine ecosystem too! It has specifications to avoid vessel collissions with whales, promote sighting networks, protects critical habitats for cetaceans, implement action plans, regulate whale watching and regulate the rehabilitation and reintroduction to the sea of stranded animals, among others. It also include an article to regulate watching activities of penguins and turtles, to fullfill a legal flaw with those activities.

So now, this law will help us to ensure blue whales feeding habitat is effectively protected and we will be able to legally demand reduction of chemical pollution from salmon farming. Futhermore, we will now be able to enforce the voluntary code of conduct that we reached last year in Punihuil to penguin watching and limit the number of vessels.

As you may envisage, this achievement is the starting point of many marine conservation initiatives that will use cetacean as the corner stone'.

For more information go to http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2008/2008-09-11-02.asp