BILL NUMBER: AJR 44	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  146
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  AUGUST 24, 2010
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 12, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 9, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hill
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Huffman and Nava)

                        JUNE 14, 2010

   Relative to marine mammal conservation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 44, Hill. Commercial whaling: moratoriums.
   This measure would request that the President and the Congress of
the United States provide for the proper conservation of whale
stocks. This measure would memorialize the Legislature's opposition
to any proposal that would result in the International Whaling
Commission's lifting of the current moratorium on commercial whaling,
which would legalize commercial whaling, authorize new whaling
quotas for nations that have been violating the current moratorium,
and allow the resumption of whale hunting in the Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary.



   WHEREAS, Whales are evolutionarily complex, highly intelligent,
and extremely important for the health and viability of ocean
ecosystems; and
   WHEREAS, In 1982, the International Whaling Commission voted to
implement a pause on commercial whaling beginning in 1986 in order to
allow significantly depleted whale stocks to recover and quotas on
whales were set to zero; and
   WHEREAS, At the June, 2010 meeting of the International Whaling
Commission in Agadir, Morocco, the United States actively negotiated
in support of a draft proposal that would have authorized commercial
whaling activity for the countries of Japan, Iceland, and Norway for
the first time since the moratorium was enacted in 1986; and
   WHEREAS, California is a coastal state dedicated to the protection
of our marine mammal populations, fisheries, and ocean resources;
and
   WHEREAS, California's ocean waters support several species of
whales, including blue whales, gray whales, pilot whales, fin whales,
humpbacks, and orcas, all of which have special biological,
ecological, aesthetic, cultural, political, and symbolic qualities
and are particularly sensitive to the threats of whale hunting; and
   WHEREAS, The protection of whales is of the utmost importance to
Californians and our state's coastal and ocean-dependent industries,
including tourism; and
   WHEREAS, Whaling, pollution, and climate change threaten these
peaceful creatures; and
   WHEREAS, Whaling has decimated these once abundant species,
including the blue whale, which has gone from a population of several
hundred thousand to near extinction and only an estimated 5,000 to
12,000 blue whales remain throughout the world; and
   WHEREAS, The whaling moratorium has staved off extinction, but
must remain in place to support a population of many different
species of whales that continue to struggle; and
   WHEREAS, Lifting the moratorium could result in significant,
irreversible, and harmful consequences to whale populations; and
   WHEREAS, California has led the way in marine responsibility and
in 2008, the Legislature passed Assembly Joint Resolution 49, which
calls on the National Marine Fisheries Service to undertake an
immediate and comprehensive assessment of the California gray whale
to determine if the gray whale should be added to the endangered
species list; and
   WHEREAS, Legalizing commercial whaling, which would decimate whale
stocks, is contrary to our state's goal of protecting our marine
mammal populations, fisheries, and ocean resources; now, therefore,
be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully requests that the President and the Congress of the
United States do everything in their power to provide for the proper
conservation of whale stocks; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully opposes any proposal that would result in the
International Whaling Commission's lifting of the commercial whaling
moratorium, which would legalize commercial whaling, authorize new
whaling quotas for nations that have been violating the current
moratorium, and allow whale hunting in the Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States.