The proposal to ask all member countries of the IWC is set out in a newly-released discussion paper.
The Whaling Commission Chairman Bill Hogarth said the organization is at a crossroads.
He’s laid out a two-stage plan for reform where Japan would be allowed to resume hunting minke whales in its own coastal waters, at the same time as reducing or ending its hunt in the Southern Ocean.
Under the proposal, Japan would agree not to kill humpback whales at in the Southern Ocean, and its ongoing science program would be reviewed within the next five years.
The IWC would also establish a sanctuary in the Southern Atlantic during the five years.
The proposals will be discussed at a special meeting of the IWC in Rome next month.
