For generations, Antigua and Barbuda’s relationship with the ocean has helped define the country. Its beaches, marine wildlife and world-famous sailing waters draw visitors from across the globe, while its voice as a small island state has carried considerable weight in international discussions about climate change and ocean protection.
Yet at the International Whaling Commission, that voice has repeatedly been co-opted to oppose whale conservation and try to reopen the door to commercial whaling.
The contradiction will come under renewed scrutiny when the IWC meets in Hobart later this month. Antigua and Barbuda has submitted a resolution intended to begin negotiations on a management programme for commercial whaling, effectively reviving a debate the international community appeared to have settled 40 years ago.
It is not an isolated intervention. Since Japan left the IWC in 2019, Antigua and Barbuda has introduced similar proposals in 2022 and 2024. Its longer voting record is even more revealing.
Over the past two decades, the country has repeatedly opposed the establishment of a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary, supported Japanese whaling quotas and resisted measures addressing the humaneness of whale killing. It has also opposed greater scrutiny of so-called scientific whaling, efforts to reduce killing times and recognition of the ecological role whales play in healthy oceans.
In 2024, Antigua and Barbuda voted against both the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary and a resolution reaffirming countries’ international legal obligations in relation to commercial whaling. Its own proposal that year was explicitly designed to work towards lifting the moratorium and developing a new whaling industry.
The country’s close relationship with Japan is no secret. When questioned in 2024 about whether Japanese assistance influenced its position, Antigua and Barbuda’s IWC Commissioner said that Japan had provided the country with US$200 million over 20 years.
Whatever lies behind the policy, it increasingly appears to be out of step with the people the government represents.
An independent survey of 508 residents, published in June, found that 64% of Antiguans and Barbudans opposed commercial whaling, while only 16% supported it. Sixty per cent opposed Antigua and Barbuda introducing a resolution that could lead to whaling’s return. Perhaps most strikingly, 68% had not previously known that their government supported commercial whaling at IWC meetings.
Antiguans and Barbudans also understand the reputational risk. Nearly two-thirds believed the policy could harm their country’s international standing, while more than half feared that continued opposition to the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary could damage tourism.
Those concerns are now being echoed by the yachting community. Sailing and superyachts are not a decorative addition to the country’s economy. The sector contributes at least US$44 million each year, around 4% of national GDP, supporting marinas, boatyards, hospitality businesses and local jobs. Visitors are drawn to Antigua and Barbuda by a living ocean. Associating the country with attempts to revive commercial whaling risks undermining the very image on which that success depends.
There is another path. Antigua and Barbuda protects whales and dolphins within its own waters and has championed marine protection and climate resilience internationally. It could take that leadership into the IWC, supporting the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary and helping the Commission confront the modern threats facing whales, including entanglement, ship strikes, underwater noise, pollution and climate change.
As Antigua and Barbuda prepares to host Commonwealth leaders in November, the question is becoming harder to avoid: whose interests, and whose voice, will it represent on the international stage?
A coalition of 11 Antiguan environmental organisations is calling on Prime Minister Gaston Browne to withdraw the resolution and ensure the country’s IWC policy reflects the views of its people.
Sign the Antigua Protect Whales petition and add your voice to theirs.
You can add your voice to the cause by signing the Antigua Protect Whales petition calling on the Antiguan Prime Minister to oppose commercial whaling.