WHALES AROUND CANADA
Commercial whaling in the 19th and early 20th centuries was so extensive that it led to the near extinction of many whale species.
It was eventually banned in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission. The original plan was that there would be a moratorium on hunting while a form of sustainable whaling was developed. But this never happened – scientists showed that whale numbers were so low, and populations so slow to recover that no whaling could be considered sustainable.
Despite this Norway, Iceland and Japan still hunt around 1500 whales per year.
One of the most threatened species is the Right whale, which although it’s protected from hunting, is still suffering as a result of human impact.
Marine biologist Alice Forrest …