14 



The Future of Whales and Whaling 



TiHE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION meets in Junc or 

 July of every year, when official delegates of eighteen nations 

 together with their expert advisers sit round a conference table in 

 Cape Town, Tokyo, London or the capital of any of the other member 

 states. But no matter where the conference is held, the needs of the 

 different countries rarely change, and the same is largely true of the faces 

 also. Most of the delegates know one another and one another's problems 

 well, which goes a long way towards fruitful collaboration. The first 

 session is usually opened by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of 

 the host nation, who delivers a welcoming address; Press photographers 

 take a number of pictures, and the rest of the conference proceeds in 

 camera. At the end of the session a communiqué is handed to the Press. 

 The main discussions always revolve round the one burning issue: the 

 steps which must be taken to prevent the whale population from being 

 reduced too drastically in any part of the world, so that whaling remains 

 a profitable occupation. It must be stressed that it is not the Commission's 

 object to preserve whales for the sake of nature conservancy - a task that 

 falls more readily to special International Nature Preservation Associa- 

 tions w^hich, though they occasionally raise their voices, have little influence 

 on the course of events. As things are at the moment, the Whaling Com- 

 mission is, in fact, in the best possible position to conserve the stock of 

 whales since, by its very purpose, it goes much further than mere con- 

 servation. Not only does it attempt to preserve whales from extinction, 

 but over and above this it tries to keep their number up to a level which 

 will enable future generations to derive as much benefit as the present 

 one from this source of fats, proteins and other precious substances. The 

 Commission is determined to see that the goose which has been laying 

 golden eggs for more than seven centuries will not be prematurely killed 

 in the twentieth. It must therefore try to balance the individual needs of 

 all the member states, and at the same time protect whales without killing 

 the industry. 



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