On December 2, 1946, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed in Washington, D.C. It established the International Whaling Commission that has overseen commercial whaling to the present day. The commission consists of almost ninety countries whose goal is to regulate the international hunting of whales. It protects different species, establishes marine sanctuaries and wildlife preserves, establishes whaling seasons, and set quotas on the amount of whales that can be captured and killed every year. The commission was created as a response to the concerns of the over-harvesting of whales during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Not wanting to permanently deplete certain species' populations and to ensure long …show more content…
I was not completely overcome by indignant outrage by the information provided in the film and wanted to conduct a little research on my own time in order to gain a better appreciation of the situation. I can definitely say that both before and after my research, I condemn the whaling practices in the Japanese city of Taiji. However, I do respect Japan's right to use its maritime resources how it wants to despite disagreeing with how they are currently doing so. Also, I conducted some research on Norway, my homeland, and its whaling practices. Basically, my position is that countries should be able to pursue whaling if they wish, though I would prefer the catches to me as small as possible and absolutely do not tolerate the killing of threatened and endangered species. Norway acts in a much more humane way than the fisherman of Taiji. Norway has had a long tradition of whaling and using whale meat for food and blubber for oil, especially in harsh, cold northern regions. Norwegian fishermen patrol their waters with explosive harpoons that kill most whale instantaneously. The Taiji fishermen on the other hand unnecessarily slay thousands of dolphins by bombarding them with agonizingly loud noises. These sounds panic the adults and babies alike and forces them to be driven to the shore where they are promptly slaughtered. Dolphins have a much higher intelligence than other whales and should not be subjected to