IWMC  World Conservation Trust

Florida, 28 December 2004

Letter to Editor St. Petersburg Times, Florida

Subject: Don't let Japan end hunting Ban

Sir,

Your editorial "Don't let Japan end hunting ban" (28 December 2004) wrongly suggests that whales are "about to disappear from the face of the Earth". There are millions and millions of whales in the world's oceans, at least one million of which are the minke whales legally and conservatively hunted by Japan, Norway and Iceland.

The only endangered species that is hunted is the bowhead, which is taken in limited quantities in a carefully managed and sustainable program. In this case the hunters are Americans - Inuit Eskimos carrying out what is classified as "subsistence whaling".

Many non-whaling countries that have opposed whaling in the past now recognize that the best way to conserve whales is to have a management program in place that limits and regulates catches. This is supported by Iceland, Japan and Norway and other nations that depend heavily on marine resources. Unfortunately, it is bureaucrats from the United States that are blocking such a move, risking the demise of the International Whaling Commission. 

Kind regards,

Eugene Lapointe
IWMC President
Former Secretary General of CITES (1982-1990)
Accredited Observer to the International Whaling Commission

Promoting the Sustainable Use of Wild Resources
- Whether Terrestrial or Aquatic
- as a Conservation Mechanism