Reached the fourth day of the IWC meeting, seems that finally the Chair's Proposal and the position of Greenpeace / PEW / WWF, which would allow resumption of commercial whaling, have been exposed to the international community. It seems that finally the moratorium is safe and most of the contracting countries have opted for a year of 'cooling' to develop the future of the IWC. It is sad to hear talking about maintaining the moratorium as a major victory when we should be talking about the steps towards a definitive end of any kind of commercial whaling, special permits, objections and reservations. Anyway, continue this topic tomorrow when conclusive results.

We wanted to publish this news right now to highlight certain attitudes from countries participating in the meeting.

First we would like to stress, to thank and congratulate Brazil, and Mexico for its magnificent speeches. Their stance has been among the most steadfast, decisive and clear in favour of whales, without giving rise to ambiguities or rhetoric. Congratulations for their excellent work and courage.

Of course also have to be emphasized equally determined interventions from Argentina, leading many aspects of conservation, as well as Costa Rica and other Latin American countries. With attitudes like these, whales still have a hope and a future. We really congratulate the Buenos Aires Group (BAG) for their hard and efficient work.

On the other hand, we are truly disappointed by the attitude of the Spanish delegation, representing not only itself but as the current EU Presidency. At no time has shown a definite or strong position, staying in the shade as to pass almost unnoticed. Meanwhile some members of the EU like Belgium have presented their proposals like the inclusion of the management of small cetaceans under the control of the IWC.

As a Spanish NGO, Ocean Sentry is deeply disappointed by the ambiguous position of the Spanish Government standing indifferent to an issue of vital importance for the future of global biodiversity.