Thinking about Antigua/Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia...READ THIS FIRST

[mwall04]

As people plan their vacations to islands in the Lesser Antilles, I want to ensure everyone is informed about specific island's stance on whaling.

The island nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines continue to voice their support of whaling through their representation at the IWC.
Rather than debate the morality of whaling, my goal is to simply inform everyone thinking about trips to these islands that they have the opportunity to make a difference. Rather than book your dive trip to one of these islands, why not make a stand. Let the island and/or resort you were thinking about staying at know you've changed your mind based on their country's stance on whaling. Pick of tof the 100's of other awesome dive locations that don't support whaling and have a great time with a clear conscience.

I didn't have this knowledge until recently and visited Antigua earlier this year (and visited St. Lucia in the past). Yes, it was a beautiful island with lots of great, friendly people. However, now that I know their government supports whaling, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth and won't be back until they change their stance. Each of these islands rely on tourism as their primary industry. A broad boycott of these islands based on their whaling stance will quickly get noticed and create change. Polls of these islands show little support for whaling among their populations, so hitting their checkbooks in the short-term can make a big difference.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Divers can make a big difference hear. Please spread the word in discussions with other divers, Facebook updates, etc.

 

[Rhone Man]

People are obviously free to declare their political support in any way they choose, but I would just add that these countries do not support whaling out of any kind of moral conviction - they are paid to support it by Japan. And these are very poor countries. Making a poor country poorer (and more dependant on foreign handouts) may not necessarily be productive here.

It is much easier to make a stand on matters of conscience when you are well fed.

 

[mwall04]

Rhone Man,

I don't disagree and would hate to impact the people of these islands in a negative manner and I appreciate you continuing the dialogue. However, the research I've done in a short period seems to indicate the "foreign aid" these islands are receiving is not distributed into the hands to the common people. Like most politics, the money stays in the hands of a few. This is why I believe polls completed by local island press shows their public overwhelming against whaling. However, the power is in the hands of a few who also happen to be the recipients of the aid.

Also, I think the threat of impact to tourism due to the public knowing their pro-wahling stance would quickly change the minds of those in charge as that impact is 100 or 1000 times greater than any "aid" from Japan.

My goal here isn't to push my conservationism on anyone. I simply believe the more we are educated about our travel destinations, the better decisions we will make. I, for example, would NOT have traveled to Antigua earlier this year IF I'd known about their stance on whaling. I met many wonderful people there that I would not want to hurt. However, I do believe, that if the whaling moratorium is overturned and these Caribbean islands play a big part in that, they will have hell to pay when the general public finds out. Much more impact from the whale-loving western world travelers than any benefit received from Japan.

 

[Rescue Diver68]

As people plan their vacations to islands in the Lesser Antilles, I want to ensure everyone is informed about specific island's stance on whaling.

The island nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines continue to voice their support of whaling through their representation at the IWC.
Rather than debate the morality of whaling, my goal is to simply inform everyone thinking about trips to these islands that they have the opportunity to make a difference. Rather than book your dive trip to one of these islands, why not make a stand. Let the island and/or resort you were thinking about staying at know you've changed your mind based on their country's stance on whaling. Pick of tof the 100's of other awesome dive locations that don't support whaling and have a great time with a clear conscience.

I didn't have this knowledge until recently and visited Antigua earlier this year (and visited St. Lucia in the past). Yes, it was a beautiful island with lots of great, friendly people. However, now that I know their government supports whaling, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth and won't be back until they change their stance. Each of these islands rely on tourism as their primary industry. A broad boycott of these islands based on their whaling stance will quickly get noticed and create change. Polls of these islands show little support for whaling among their populations, so hitting their checkbooks in the short-term can make a big difference.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Divers can make a big difference hear. Please spread the word in discussions with other divers, Facebook updates, etc.

Thanks for posting this. Some of the other Islands "re-thought" their support in the past few years and I think it was at least partially due to global attention to lists like this. Islands who depend on tourist dollars don't want to show up on lists of places who support whaling. This is a factor in considering where I spend my vacation dollars.

 

[Rhone Man]

Rhone Man,

I don't disagree and would hate to impact the people of these islands in a negative manner and I appreciate you continuing the dialogue.

Thanks. Just to be clear, I don't disagree with you either. I was just encouraging people to think through any course of action they might take. I am also opposed to commercial whaling, and I find it a little embarassing that people in this region sell their principles so cheaply.