This is going to be a short diary, for I really have nothing to add to this story until I gain more knowledge about the situation. All I know is that I was completely surprised when this came through on the Twitter line:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
WASHINGTON — The United States is leading an effort by a handful of antiwhaling nations to broker an agreement that would limit and ultimately end whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland, according to people involved with the negotiations.
The compromise deal, which has generated intense controversy within the 88-nation International Whaling Commission and among antiwhaling activists, would allow the three whaling countries to continue hunting whales for the next 10 years, although in reduced numbers.
In exchange, the whaling nations — which have long exploited loopholes in an international treaty that aims to preserve the marine mammals — would agree to stricter monitoring of their operations, including the placing of tracking devices and international monitors on all whaling ships and participation in a whale DNA registry to track global trade in whale products.
All I can say is I don't think whaling will ever be permanently banned - it's just too hot of a topic, and too embedded in tradition and culture in some places (like with the Makah tribe here in the Pacific Northwest.) But if we can more easily regulate and control the industry - like focusing on non-endangered species, with a ban on the rest - then I think that's a good compromise.
Feel free to disagree. Whatever the case, this is welcome news.