Whaling talks to continue
Delegates at the International Whaling Commission annual meeting in Madeira have agreed to continue with reform talks that started a year ago, despite fundamental differences between pro and anit-whaling countries.
Animal welfare groups have recently issued a report claiming that whale watching would generate tourism revenue of around USD 2.1bn, considerably more than the tens of million dollars that are currently brought in by commercial whaling.
Despite all this, Japan, Norway and Iceland are showing no signs of giving up whaling, so the anti-whaling countries are trying to find a compromise. This might involve greater oversight of hunting, a reduction in the total number of whales killed, and reform of the scientific whaling clause under which any country can set its own quotas.
Japan has apparently agreed not to include humpback and fin whales in its annual Antarctic hunt, and to reduce the number of minke whales targeted from 935 to 600. But they won’t give up the principle that each country can set its own quotas for special permit catches.
More detail from the BBC website.
