![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_faqhRiO-ORQvXyEg-ebUUTy4Ggrv1MeB9Rxc4EAwmp45q5l9AnN6bip5Wm_QpB1qKEkHKK_dVkH0QS6nnLt-_Oq19_S2i_C43CXTipMG_IDM135wxuHjVWszh6Nh6VQkw-3taMyMGt4/s400/rightwhale1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuDOurrGq5kvngeNx81V1C-09eQvV5eBFM1-aZ4ZhLEuqtUxJue92A5Rjn1NaJ0rZpQuzy86LufCqfDnafHoFS6635dRR73JGvgHMqSBi-YTdzQJd-I0gHEHmRzYIO2fKkUZjKyerscs/s200/IWC+logo.gif)
There are both whale conservation organizations and commercial whaling groups in attendance - each making their case for either the greater protection of whales or the maintaining (or increase) of current catch quotas. Several nations including Japan and Norway have expressed a desire to resume full-scale whaling operations. Having been shown on the worldwide stage of public opinion that their "whaling for scientific research" to be largely a farce, Japan has, in particular, been rumored to favor major expansion of its whaling activities.
We'll have to wait and see what the final outcome of the IWC meeting will produce. The petitions have all been signed, the key players are there, and the backroom political leveraging, I am sure, is in full swing - so all we can do is hold our breath and hope that reason prevails in determining the future of what is, by today's standards, an archaic activity and an ironic reminder of the consequences of dependence on a limited resource - once it was whale oil, now it's crude oil.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu5NnasI8VkkVv5qd3y_GLyTtXuvWuc0LUMlZzNVITlfLnVNgXL14RvNq1aWh97DP53DrKV84dRyHtKtqhdu9dmdNh0rNVgrt3m6X6ZH-CsQnDpVQBb7acu8VPzbniQLBio6oxY54IbM/s320/Picture+1.jpg)
And let's cross our fingers and flippers and hope for the best for earth's dwindling cetaceans.
Read more about the IWC's meeting agenda.
Read the BBC interactive article.
No comments:
Post a Comment