Chile Passes Whale Sanctuary Law

The Chilean Congress today unanimously approved a bill declaring Chilean jurisdictional waters to be a whale sanctuary.

Now, the bill heads to the desk of President Michelle Bachelet who originally submitted the measure to Congress. She is expected to announce the bill as a Law of the Republic shortly.

Chilean conservation and fishermen’s groups praised the legislators for supporting the will of the Chilean people regarding cetacean conservation in the waters off Chile’s 3,400 mile (5,500 km) long coast.

They said the final approval of the law will allow Chile to attend the intersessional meeting of the International Whaling Commission next week in Florida with a strong message of conservation and non-lethal use of cetaceans.

Centro de Conservaci