Tokelau whale sanctuary
Tokelau has declared a whale sanctuary in its waters, bringing the number of national and territorial sanctuaries in the South Pacific to 11. The sanctuary will cover 290,000sq km of ocean.
Sanctuaries have only moral force, but are seen by supporters as helping support the recovery of decimated whale populations like the humpback and southern right whale.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs is yet to discuss a plan by Tokelau to declare a whale sanctuary in its waters, with Tokelau's legislative council. The Ministry is the New Zealand Government agency that administers the territory. An associate professor in international law at Victoria University, Alberto Costi, says Tokelau may not need New Zealand's permission to declare the sanctuary. However, he says New Zealand would be needed to enforce it.
The announcement was made at a conservation meeting in New Zealand that condemned continued whale-hunting by countries such as Japan.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/