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Whaling: Don't trade the moratorium away

Nature volume 482, page 308 (2012)Cite this article

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In their proposal to allocate 'whale shares' to both whalers and conservationists as an alternative to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling, Christopher Costello and colleagues overlook several factors (Nature 481, 139–140; 2012).

Commercial whaling is in decline. In Japan, it is becoming less economically viable as consumer demand and whale-meat sales revenues fall — even with an increasing government subsidy, which this year is roughly ¥2.3 billion (US$30 million). Demand is also waning in Iceland and Norway. A ban on international trade prevents these countries from securing new markets. Last year, the global stockpile of unwanted whale meat reached more than 7,000 tonnes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Chippenham, UK

    Mark Peter Simmonds

  2. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington DC, USA

    Sue Fisher

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  1. Mark Peter Simmonds
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  2. Sue Fisher
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Correspondence to Mark Peter Simmonds.

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Simmonds, M., Fisher, S. Whaling: Don't trade the moratorium away. Nature 482, 308 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/482308b

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