The 1999 Norwegian whaling season has now ended whilst the Japanese hunt in Antarctic waters is still due to take place during the cusp of the Millennium. Greenpeace's Richard Page describes the current situation with the only two countries flouting international agreement to end commercial whaling.
"Norway already kills more whales than there is a market for in
Norway. The real reason for their year-on-year increase in the number of
whales that they kill is that the whalers and the whale traders want to
overturn the international trade ban in whale products and restart
selling whale meat and blubber to the lucrative Japanese market. The
majority of countries in the International Whaling Commission remain
staunchly opposed to commercial whaling. Japan, to try and create a
blocking minority has, with the use of fisheries aid, enlisted the
support of a number of small eastern Caribbean countries.
Greenpeace has been working within these eastern Caribbean islands to
show that there is a different approach that they could be taking. They
could be promoting whale conservation and promoting whale watching which
would bring much greater economic benefits to the islands. And
Greenpeace is helping promote a number of regional sanctuaries around
the world. These regional sanctuaries will work as stepping stones
towards a global whale sanctuary. An end to commercial whaling forever."
Richard Page, Greenpeace
