Brutal and Sad Facts About Whaling That More People Should Know About

16. Japan Sought To Restart Commercial Whaling

Around the late 1980s, the population of whales had reached the brink of extinction due to unrestricted whaling by a large group of countries. To curb commercial whaling, nations from all around the world banded together at International Whaling Commission (IWC) and voted for a moratorium to be put in place. This ban came into effect in 1986.

Japan used a loophole that allowed scientific whaling and continued commercial whaling under its guise. Ultimately in 2018, Japan departed the commission. This means that they withdraw their whaling fleets from Southern waters but also that they continue unrestricted commercial whaling.