Whaling: don't trade the moratorium away

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe 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. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal Receive 51

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INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Chippenham, UK Mark Peter Simmonds * Animal Welfare Institute, Washington DC, USA Sue Fisher Authors * Mark

Peter Simmonds View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Sue Fisher View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Mark Peter Simmonds. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Simmonds, M., Fisher, S. Whaling:

Don't trade the moratorium away. _Nature_ 482, 308 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/482308b Download citation * Published: 15 February 2012 * Issue Date: 16 February 2012 * DOI:

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