Brazil's 21-million-square-kilometre whale sanctuary blocked at IWC summit
Brazil's proposal for a vast whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic failed to reach the three-quarters approval threshold needed.
The International Whaling Commission meeting in Hobart saw Brazil put forward a resolution to establish a sanctuary stretching from the equator to Antarctica that would protect whales' entire feeding, breeding and migratory life cycles.
Thirty-nine countries voted for it, 18 against, and three abstained. The motion needed three-quarters of members to pass.
Pro-whaling nations including Norway, Iceland and Japan blocked the effort, which Brazil has pursued for 28 years. Brazil's delegate said the country would resubmit the plan at every future IWC meeting until it succeeds.
The summit did pass a Hobart Declaration unanimously, acknowledging 80 years of the whaling convention and marking 40 years of the commercial whaling moratorium.
Why it mattersWhales face growing threats from ship strikes, noise pollution and net entanglement, making ocean protection zones increasingly urgent.
AustraliaThe Hobart summit brought the IWC to Australia and passed new resolutions recommending safer shipping routes, lower vessel speeds and greater collaboration to reduce whale deaths.
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