Portorož, 24 October - Slovenia supports Brazil's efforts to establish a South-Atlantic whale sanctuary as well as the resolution on improving the supervision of scientific whaling, Environment Minister Irena Majcen stressed on the sidelines of a session of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Slovenia is committed to protecting environment and biotic diversity, Majcen added at the opening of IWC's 66th regular session, which got under way in Portorož on Monday.

Pointing to better supervision in light of Japan's scientific whaling in the protected area of the coasts of Antarctica, one of the highlights of the session, Majcen noted that Slovenia expressed the EU's position on the resolution.

According to her, this would ensure the preserving of biotic diversity in the sea as well as improve the population of whales and dolphins in the coming years.

Andrej Bibič of the Environment Ministry, who was put forward for IWC vice-president, moreover said that Slovenia did not support whaling, excluding aboriginal subsistence whaling and in cases that improve the situation in all populations of whales.

Bibič meanwhile acknowledged that views on scientific whaling were quite divided and that all sides were using court rulings to their advantage.

However, he is optimistic that a breakthrough could be achieved in Portorož on what constitutes scientific whaling and which research is scientific as a scientific committee of IWC is to adopt a position on the matter.

The session, running until Friday, marks the 30th anniversary of the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling and is attended by delegations of the IWC's member states and NGOs.