Antigua and Barbuda’s government dismisses its own citizens’ views on whaling
- Government responds: Following the publication of the results of a national opinion poll, Antigua and Barbuda’s IWC Commissioner Daven Joseph questioned the survey’s scientific credibility and defended the country’s position.
- The poll stands: 508 residents were interviewed by telephone between 26 May and 3 June 2026 by CoreConsult Inc., a professional local firm, with respondents randomly selected and results reported at the 95% confidence level. The survey was commissioned by the Antigua & Barbuda Ocean Trust.
- Public opposition and reputational concerns: 64% oppose commercial whaling, 68% were unaware of their country’s efforts within the International Whaling Commission to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling, and 62% believe this position could harm Antigua and Barbuda’s international reputation ahead of major international events.
- OceanCare rejects government claims: OceanCare dismisses the government’s claims as misleading and inaccurate, including its portrayal of Japan’s commercial whaling as sustainable, and renews its call on Antigua and Barbuda not to support any initiative that could lead to the resumption of commercial whaling.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda has publicly responded to the results of the national opinion poll showing that a clear majority of its citizens oppose commercial whaling and their country’s support for it.
Rather than reflecting on the findings, the country’s representative at the IWC, Ambassador Daven Joseph, questioned the credibility of the survey and defended the government’s pro-whaling position at the IWC, as reported by Island Press Box.
OceanCare renews its call on the government not to support any initiative that could lead to the lifting of the global moratorium on commercial whaling and rejects the government’s overly simplistic portrayal of commercial whaling as sustainable.
“It’s puzzling, although not surprising, that Antigua and Barbuda’s Commissioner to the IWC has chosen to dismiss the views of the country’s own citizens. The country’s representative repeats the same misleading phrases again and again – but is not listening to its own citizens. That reaction justifies the claim that the government’s position on whaling does not reflect the will of the majority of their own people”, says Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare.
Government dismisses poll ahead of major international summits
The survey was conducted by a professional local company “CoreConsult Inc.” commissioned by the Antigua and Barbuda Ocean Trust.
The survey found that:
- 64% oppose commercial whaling;
- 60% oppose Antigua and Barbuda proposing a resolution that could lead to its resumption;
- 68% were unaware that their government supports commercial whaling at the IWC;
- 56% oppose the country’s continued resistance to the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary;
- 62% believe continued support for commercial whaling could harm the country’s international reputation;
- 52% believe opposition to the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary could harm tourism.
The report concluded that public opinion is largely at odds with Antigua and Barbuda’s current position on commercial whaling and related IWC policies. Despite never having conducted commercial whaling itself, the country has repeatedly advocated at the IWC for measures that could reopen the door to commercial hunts.
The issue is particularly sensitive ahead of the Caribbean Blue Economy Summit in October and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November. 62% of respondents believe the government’s continued support for commercial whaling could harm the country’s international reputation, while 52% see a potential risk to tourism.
Whaling is not sustainable
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is also reported to defend its position by invoking the sustainable use of marine resources and claiming that Japan’s commercial whaling practices are sustainable.
Conservationists strongly oppose this claim. Whales are long-lived, slow-maturing and slow-breeding mammals that cannot be considered to be a sustainable “resource” to be “used”. Nor can the exploitation of whales be considered compatible with Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, as many cetacean populations are already severely depleted and face a myriad of other threats that humans have not yet successfully mitigated.
Commercial whaling is inherently cruel, unnecessary and unsustainable. Historic commercial whaling drove several species and populations to the brink of extinction, and many have still not recovered to anything close to their pre-exploitation levels.
Why Japan’s commercial whaling is particularly unsustainable
The reference to Japanese whaling is particularly misleading. Whale species are divided into distinct populations whose conservation status can differ considerably, while animals belonging to different populations may overlap in the same waters and may not be distinguishable during hunts.
One example is the J-stock of minke whales in the Northwest Pacific, a distinct population considered endangered. These whales overlap with more abundant minke whale populations and cannot be visually distinguished from them during hunts. J-stock animals have repeatedly been identified among hunted whales and in whale products placed on the market. Whaling, together with continuing bycatch, is pushing this population towards extinction.
A further example is Japan’s commercial hunt of fin whales in the North Pacific, which began in 2024 without a prior IWC assessment of the population being targeted. These cases demonstrate why broad claims that commercial whaling is sustainable fail to reflect the status and vulnerability of individual whale populations.
Further information
- TV report by ABS Evening News, broadcast on 24 July, starting at 15:25
- Articles published by Island Press Boxon 24 July and 28 July concerning the letter and the government’s response
- The survey was conducted by CoreConsult Inc., a local firm, on behalf of the Antigua and Barbuda Ocean Trust. 508 residents were interviewed by telephone between 26 May and 3 June 2026
- The letter to Prime Minister Gaston Browne was sent on 24 July 2026 and signed by 22 organisations
- IWC Commissioner Daven Joseph on Japanese assistance (2024)
- IWC70 takes place in Hobart, Australia, from 27 September to 2 October 2026
- Antigua and Barbuda’s previous pro-whaling resolutions at the IWC: https://archive.iwc.int/?r=19636 and https://archive.iwc.int/?r=22248