Whaling The commercial whaling industry had existed for many centuries in other oceans before whalers moved into the Southern Ocean. In the beginning of the 20th century whalers began to exploit the herds of southern whales. With an industrialized approach to whaling in place the numbers of species began to rapidly deplete, until some species such as Right, Blue and Humpback had been almost wiped out. In 1994, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) declared the Southern Ocean as a Whale Sanctuary banning commercial whaling.
There are two different views on the subject of Whaling. Some say that the "save the whales" campaign has ended. They believe that some species can be hunted as food. Others such as Green Peace and other animal rights organizations view this as cruelty. Countries and nations all have different views on the subject and some side with the Anti-whaling groups and others with the whalers.
The International Whaling Commission logo.
Whale watching
Whale!On one hand, Japan has had a history of whaling since 400 A.D. In the 17th century there was written documentation of whaling operations and manufacturing. Whaling had been an established tradition in Japan for many years. They have not always been so lucky to have a reliable food source available to them. They suffered very much due to wartime losses after WWII. Many people died of starvation due to a lack of food. The Japanese have been criticized by many nations who are against whaling. At the 52nd IWC Annual Meeting the Japanese where not welcomed by protestors who screamed "Japan corrupts poor nations" and other such comments. Countries like Australia and the United States also voiced their disapproval by saying "Japan makes prostitution of science". Most of Japans food sources come from overseas because cattle grazing in Japan are hardly possible due to its mountainous topography. They...