| Whaling is cruel, the demand for whale meat is falling and we can’t be certain that whale populations can survive large scale hunting as well as the other daily threats they face Interna tional environmental law is usually created to take certain measures in response to global environmental phenomena. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling. Japan continued to hunt whales using the scientific research provision in the agreement, and Japanese whaling is currently conducted by the Institute of Cetacean Research. The whale meat from these scientific whale hunts is sold in shops and restaurants. Under the cetacean order, there are 86 species of whales, including dolphins and porpoises. The order is divided into two suborders, which distinguishes baleen whales and tooth whales. Whales with the baleen in their mouths are under the suborder Mysticeti, or baleen whales. Researchers have been conducted separate investigations on each kind of whale since they all have different habitat, populations, and the eating habits. Most importantly, some whales are seriously in danger of extinction, while others are still thriving. When the population of certain species of whale started to be dramatically decreased in the twentieth century, the international community started to regulate the industry. In 1931, the Geneva Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed. There are another three important regulations that protect the whaling activity in Japan, such as the International Convention for The Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), United Nations Convention on the Law of The Sea (UNCLOS), and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Based on those regulations, in order to protect whaling activity and also biodiversity of the whales in the world, all representative countries who are in favor of whaling ought to obey the provisions, which were written in the regulations above. |