Commission hopes to forge whale pact

SANTIAGO, Chile, June 23 (UPI) -- Representatives of nations for and against whaling gathered in Chile's capital Monday for the yearly meeting of the International Whaling Commission.

The goal for this year's meeting is agreement on a package of reforms that will be acceptable to both sides of the matter, the BBC reports.

"Every party I've talked to senses that the IWC cannot continue on the path it's on," says William Hogarth, United States whaling commissioner.

Hogarth said the only way to proceed is to negotiate a package where everybody wins and nobody loses.

Anti-whaling countries and groups are concerned that an acceptable package would have to include a partial lifting of the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.

Also of concern is the effect of climate change and disease on whales.

At the start of the Monday meeting, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was set to sign a bill that establishes a whale sanctuary in Chile's national waters.